Care Bears Family Adventures, Book 4: Generations
by CryosR
Summary: We return to the past, to a time when the Care Bear Family was still alive and well. But darkness stirs below and a messenger from the future may help them avert this disaster. The Care Bear Family will face their greatest challenge yet as they fight not only for their own fate, but to avert the dark future that is coming, or everything will be for nothing...
1. Return to Yesterday

_You can see far away,_

_then fly to me on wings of the mind_

_From the endless night_

Independent Bear stood in a field of blue roses under a cloudless sky as a soft breeze wafted by him.

_Fragile life comes_

_So rarely and stays even less_

_Crumbles at your gentle touch_

He crouched down to pick a flower, only to have it shatter into tiny filaments at his slightest touch.

_Fear and hate_

_Turned inwards_

_Only brings you pain and loss_

He stood up and looked down, taking careful steps through the flowers only to break every single one his feet touched, leaving a trail of an empty field behind him.

_One day your life will fulfill_

_And your seeking will_

_End in peace or pieces_

In the distance, Indy saw a figure standing amidst the flowers. A Care Bear, or Care Bear Cousin he couldn't tell at this distance but he knew he had to get to get to her.

_Beautiful and fleeting_

_This love to be_

_May it weather the storm_

_Coming from the horizon_

Then the sky cracked and the peak of the sky shattered into a widening hole revealing absolute darkness that only grew and grew.

Indy's eyes shot open. He lay in bed panting and sweaty for a few minutes, just reassuring himself that he was awake before he threw the covers off and stumbled into his bathroom. He splashed water on his face and looked in the mirror. This was real. He glanced sideways at the frosted glass in his shower at the sliver of dawn peeking over the clouds and sighed. Might as well get up now, no chance he was going to sleep after that.

**Care Bears Family Adventures, Book 4: Generations**

Chapter 1: Return to Yesterday

True Heart rummaged through the Hall of Hearts' attic. "I know it's here somewhere…" She picked up an old photo album and wiped some of the dust off the cover. She smiled as she looked at the baby pictures of the young Care Bears and Cousins then set it aside and continued her search.

"So there you are," Noble Heart poked his head up through trap door and rested his arms on the floor. "What are you looking for?"

"The catalyst…what did Sage call it?" True Heart pondered for a moment, "The Radiant Heart Crystal." She moved the box of photo albums aside and opened another.

"Ahh." Noble Heart nodded then climbed the rest of the way into the attic, "I don't think you have to search any longer." He came up behind True Heart and attached a thin chain necklace around her neck. The Radiant Heart crystal hung at the end of a short silver chain in a clawed setting where it dangled right in the middle of her chest. It was a multifaceted gem shaped like a valentine heart whose color continuously shifted. "I found it a couple days ago and asked Grumpy to make the setting. It was going to be your anniversary present next week but I don't want you to think it's lost."

"Oh Noble Heart!" True Heart spun around and gave him a big hug as tears of joy streamed from her eyes, "Thank you! I love it!" She looked up and gave Noble Heart a kiss, "And I love you."

Noble Heart smiled and embraced her back, "I love you too. Want to get out of this dusty attic?"

True Heart stepped back and held her new necklace in one hand while taking Noble Heart's in the other, "Yes, I do but…" she looked back over her shoulder, "We should go through these soon. A lot of memories here."

"Yes there are," Noble Heart nodded while still smiling, "Let's go make some new ones."

OoOoO

Tenderheart Bear would never get used to sitting in the U.N. as a representative of the Kingdom of Caring, even though he had been the one to champion this new direction being the only non-human seated in the hall was always a tense experience, and the suit he was forced to wear made things especially uncomfortable in every sense of the word. Thankfully the magical translator necklaces they had provided to the U.N. proved to be a huge point in their favor, a gift that helped communication between members of each nation, granted all representatives were expected to speak English but it was still a huge boon.

While Tenderheart was listening intently his interest peaked when the Secretary General's next item came up. "The next item we need to discuss is the impending extraterrestrial contact we can expect in the next few days."

The secretary general waited for the conversation that followed to die down before he continued, "I know this is a surprise to many of you but we only received this information two days ago from an observatory that wishes to remain anonymous. Right now our current priority is deciding who will make first contact. If they are approaching Earth then we need to determine their intentions. There appears to be only one ship so we need to try and convince them to land in the country that's going to initiate first contact. Now then, who should we nominate?"

"I believe the Kingdom of Caring would be the ideal location." Surprisingly it wasn't Tenderheart who made the suggestion, but the delegate from the UK. Emboldened, they continued to speak, "It was technology from the Kingdom of Caring that allowed us to set up the observatories to detect anything that far away or that we even know there are extraterrestrials, not to mention they are a relatively neutral territory with the capability to defend themselves and warn us if they have hostile intent."

The secretary general nodded, "I see, do you agree with this, Tenderheart?"

"Yes, we would be willing to act as the ambassadors for first contact with the extraterrestrials approaching Earth." Tenderheart said, "I'll have to ask our science minister to try and contact them before they decide to land somewhere else."

"Alright. Are there any other suggestions?" The secretary general waited for the inevitable volunteers before he continued, "Now that that's settled, we need to put it to a vote."

OoOoO

"Dad!"

"Anger Heart!"

"Anger Heart!"

Anger Heart fox stopped on the path on his way home from a caring mission and turned to face the three young Care Bears running towards him: his and Guidance Heart's son Flair Heart Racoon (a pink boy raccoon whose symbol was a heart wearing a tricorn hat with a large red feather stuck through it), Tugs' and Contrary Heart's daughter Marina Bear (a teal bear with widely spaces navy blue stripes whose tummy symbol was a navy blue heart with a light blue ocean wave at the center), and Love Heart and Confidence Heart's daughter Miracle Heart Kitsune (a purple fennec fox with a dark purple eight pointed star on her forehead whose tummy symbol was a red heart with a purple eight pointed star inside of it). All three looked to be about ten years old, though Marina was only five.

All thee skidded to a stop in front of Anger Heart, except Flair who ran right into his dad and gave him a hug. Anger Heart smiled and hugged him back, "How was school?"

Flair sighed and let go, "Boring, dad, but at least there's no homework today."

Marina grinned, "Now we got all weekend to have fun."

"We're going to see Great Grams Bear so I can show her this." Miracle Heart turned sideways to show off that she had three tails growing out of the base of her spine. With the magical training Love Heart had given her Mira had grown a second tail when she was only six years old and had immediately insisted on changing her species name from 'Fennec' to 'Kitsune'.

Anger Heart winced slightly, remembering how painful it had been when his tails split.

Mira wasn't done and she turned to Anger Heart with a dazzle in her eyes, "Can you please show me your tails?"

"Yeah, I wanna see all the tails you got!" Marina pumped her arms and exhaled which gave off a sound like a cat's purr.

"Please show us dad!" Flair was practically vibrating with excitement.

Anger Heart glanced back at his only visible tail, then looked back into the eager faces of his son and his friends and gave up, "Alright, but just for a moment." He only had to concentrate for a moment as the three children ran around behind him as his tail split and eight identical tails spread outwards like a blooming flower. He heard gasps of wonder as he swished the tails experimentally, remembering how the extra weight and limbs felt.

"Is that an illusion?" Mira asked.

"No, it's shapeshifting. They fuse into one tail whenever I make them," Anger Heart looked backwards over his shoulder.

"Can you turn into something like a dragon?" Marina asked.

Anger Heart couldn't help but chuckle, "No, I'm not that good."

"Why do you hide them, dad?" Flair asked.

"Because trying to get around or even sit down with eight tails sticking out of your butt is a huge pain. Do you think your mom would like it if I knocked over everything I walked past in the house?" Anger Heart merged the tails back into one.

"Oh, I guess not," Flair nodded.

Anger Heart turned to face them all again, "Now don't keep Great Grams Bear waiting, I'm sure she wants to see you," he ruffled first his son's then the two girl's headfur before they all dashed off. He watched them go for a moment then headed home. While he wasn't lying about the inconvenience of so many extra limbs, in truth his main reason to hide his tails was because the idea scared him. The power they represented and how it could so easily grow out of control that even feeling the extra gravity was a constant reminder of what he could do if he didn't keep it under control.

OoOoO

Love Heart didn't like going to these U.N. summit meetings, and he especially didn't like just waiting in one of the rooms outside while people debated and discussed things, but he was officially Tenderheart's bodyguard on these excursions and he knew he was likely the best qualified to do this job. Another official title was carried by the uniform he wore custom made by Hugs and Grams Bear: Prince General Love Heart Bear.

When the Kingdom of Caring entered the U.N. they were required to designate their system of government so they chose a somewhat convoluted term: Constitutional Oligarcal Monarchy. Officially Noble Heart, True Heart, Sage Heart and Life Heart were the kings and queens of the Kingdom of Caring with Tenderheart, Brave Heart and himself as the ruling council beneath them and several other as specific ministers (like Bright Heart as the minister of science). As the leader of the Care Bear Magi, who were officially the army of the Kingdom of Caring, Love Heart had the title of General and the additional title of Prince, as the son of two of the Monarchs, titles he accepted but never used unless he was required. His uniform for this purpose was sky blue with a white sash and a rank insignia of a heart with five stars in an X pattern across the front. The last addition was a silver metal with a pair of crossed red swords adorning it, representing his defeat of Dusk Heart a decade ago.

Love Heart passed the time playing with his heartphone, simple color matching games that at least helped time pass faster. With the rise of smart technology and their presence known to the world at large it was decided that the Care Bear Family needed a technological upgrade to their communications, thus Bright Heart and Grumpy Bear designed and built the heartphones. Physically they resembled a touch-screen smart phone with a single power button and two volume buttons on the sides, a camera on the front and back and they functioned as any smartphone on Earth would; each heartphone was wrapped in a durable rubber case the same color as the owner's fur with an image of their tummy symbol in the middle of the back. However, due to their inconsistent position in the sky they couldn't just sign up to a contract on earth, not to mention the expense involved, they had to create their own network. Bright Heart and Grumpy Bear had used the old Caring Meter as a base to set up their personal heartphone network tower which also projected the caring meter's readings to the phones and a GPS signal to locate the targets of their missions, which rendered the old systems for monitoring mostly obsolete. They still maintained the old system just in case but it was no longer as extensive or up to date as it could have been.

Love Heart was finally shaken out of his distraction when Tenderheart returned from the meeting, looking both excited and flustered. "Love Heart, we need to get home."

"What happened?" Love Heart stowed his phone as they headed out of the building.

"There's extraterrestrials heading towards Earth and the Kingdom of Caring was chosen to make first contact with them." Tenderheart was walking outside as he spoke.

"Wait, you mean aliens?" Love Heart stared at him in disbelief.

Tenderheart nodded, "Yes, maybe even the same ones that Bright Heart was communicating with years ago." He conjured up a cloud car and got in the driver's seat. "We have to contact them so we can get them to land at home before anywhere else. I just hope Bright Heart can communicate with them."

Love Heart chuckled as he sat in the passenger's seat, "Knowing him, he'll find a way regardless of the risk."

OoOoO

"You could have come early if it was important," Take Care said as she sat behind her desk.

"I didn't want to wake you, and it's not serious just… a bad dream I've been having for a while." Indy kept his gaze level with Take Care's as he sat down across from her desk.

Take Care nodded, "What kind of dream, can you remember it?"

Indy nodded, "I can, just now. I'm standing alone in a field of flowers that disintegrate when I touch or walk through them. Then I see a Care Bear, or maybe a cousin, in the distance but I can't identify them. Then the sky shatters and I wake up."

"Have you been having this dream a lot lately?" Take Care asked.

"For two weeks now, but I only just remembered. It started waking me up a couple days ago but this…" Indy took a deep breath, "This was the first time I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards. Do you know what it means?"

Take Care shook her head, "Sorry, but I'm not good at interpreting dreams. It might have something to do with your psionic powers, granted I don't know much about them but it's always a possibility. Have you been using them much lately?"

"No, I try not to."

"Because you almost killed Love Heart with them when you were children," Take Care finished. "Has anything in your life changed recently that might have brought this on?"

Indy had to think for a minute, "Nothing comes to mind."

"Well let me know if this keeps happening or if it gets worse," Take Care said. As she got up to file the report she started humming and smiling.

Indy smiled as well, "Looking forwards to Get Well's graduation?"

"I am, and so is Cautious Heart," Take Care turned back to him, "Want to come?"

Indy held up his hand and shook his head, "Thanks, but I don't want to impose on a family thing."

"Suit yourself." Take Care went back to finish filing.

Indy made a hasty exit without Take Care noticing. He felt a spasm travel down his right arm but ignored it. As he had been speaking to Take Care and saw her when she turned around, something hit him. He pulled his heartphone out of his tummy symbol and immediately searched for blue roses online and read the result: representing unattainable goal, the impossible dreams or secret love. He stopped and looked around to make sure no one was listening to him. His heart beat faster and he took several deep breaths before he was finally able to admit aloud to himself.

"I love her."

OoOoO

"Great Grams Bear!" Marina and Mira ran over to Grams as she stood up out of her rocking chair then crouched down to catch the two in a big hug.

"How are you my little darlings?" Grams asked

"Just great, look three tails!" Mira stepped back and showed off her new appendages.

"Look, fangs!" Marina opened her mouth to show off her elongated canines, one of the few cat-like traits she possessed.

"You two are growing up so well," Grams looked up to where Flair Heart lingered by the door, "Flair, is something wrong?"

Flair shuffled his feet awkwardly, "I'm not your great grandson…"

Grams walked over to the pink raccoon and lifted his chin, "That doesn't matter. I can be your great grandma if you want, go on and smile Flair."

Flair grinned and gave Grams a hug and Grams hugged him back, "There you go. Now do you have homework this weekend?"

"No." All three answered at once.

"That's good," Grams stood up, "Do you want to hear a story?"

Mira shuddered, "No, not after listening to Bright Heart all day."

Grams couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, we can do that later."

"Can we have some cookies?" Marina asked, doing her best to sound sweet.

"I'm afraid I don't have any," Grams saw the disappointed looks on their faces, "But don't worry, you can help me bake some more." At those words all three children darted into the kitchen. Grams chuckled. She would never get tired of this.

In the kitchen, Marina found the flower and hauled the large bucket out of the cupboard and up on to the counter while Flair found the sugar and Mira climbed up on the counter to where she knew Grams kept the chocolate chips.

"Now Mira, you know you're not supposed to do that," Grams easily lifted her great-granddaughter down to the floor, then grabbed the bag of chocolate chips anyway.

"Don't you wanna go see your uncle Pace's graduation?" Flair asked as he and Marina climbed up on step stools to help measure the ingredients.

Marina stuck out her tongue and shook her head, "No, I don't wanna go back to school to see a bunch of people talking for hours."

Flair nodded, "Yeah, me either."

"Sounds boring," Mira agreed.

OoOoO

Shortly after Indy left, Take Care received two more visitors. Contrary Heart Liger and her husband Tugs Bear stepped into her office.

Tugs spoke first and got straight to the point, "Did you find out what's wrong with Marina?"

Take Care was expecting the question and she was quick on the reply, "Yes, and she's perfectly healthy, healthier than most at her age actually."

"But she's growing so slowly," Connie protested, "I was already fully grown at her age."

"Yes, I am aware," Take Care said, "You said she's friends with Miracle Heart and Flair Heart, right?"

Tugs nodded, "Yeah, and?"

"They're magi so they age slower. Everything I've looked at says that she decided she didn't want to grow up fast and leave her friends behind so she subconsciously slowed herself down to be the same age as her friends," Take Care turned to Tugs, "You were a toddler for almost 20 years before Connie and Hope were born because you liked being a cub and living with Grams Bear, but when you were born," Take Care turned to Connie, "Hugs and Tugs decided they wanted to grow up with you. Marina's just doing the opposite, slowing down so she doesn't leave her friends behind."

"She did ask us why Mira and Flair were growing so slowly when the came to her first birthday," Connie thought back to that day remembering Marina's 'why aren't they growing up?' question and her own answer about how Magi aged more slowly.

"We can do that?" Tugs was perplexed.

"It's subconscious, as far as I can tell. When Grams Bear went through her phase that one year of Thanksgiving when she started riding that motorcycle and cooking tacos, she actually became younger, albeit only dropping from 'senior' to 'late middle aged', probably a good thing since every cub wants to spend time with her these days. It seems the saying 'you're only as old as you feel' is more literal for the Care Bear Family." Take Care stood up, "If you don't mind, we should get going. The graduation ceremony starts in a couple hours."

"Alright, I can't wait to see Pace again," Connie grinned as she and Tugs left, passing by Cautious Heart as she returned home.

"Ready to go, mom?" Cautious Heart poked her head through the door.

"I am now," Take Care stood up, still smiling as she left the house and conjured a cloud car for them to fly down to earth.

OoOoO

"Marina!" Connie called as she and Tugs stepped into Grams' house.

"Hi mom! Hi dad!" Marina dart out of the kitchen a bunch of flower dust stuck to her face. She grinned, "We're baking cookies."

Tugs laughed, "This brings back memories. Are you ready to go to Uncle Pace's graduation?"

Marina's cheerful attitude seemed to vanish and she folded her arms, "No, I wanna stay here!"

Grams heard the two come in and was at Marina's side before Connie or Tugs could get angry. "Why don't you let me watch her while you're gone Tugs? I know she'd be dreadfully bored there."

Tugs and Connie exchanged a look then looked at their daughter's defiant face, Connie in particular seeing a version of herself facing down Regal when she went through a defiant phase.

"Alright, Grams, if it's not too much trouble," Connie said.

"It's never too much trouble for my little darlings," Grams gave a knowing smile to Tugs. It had the desired effect.

Tugs sighed, then smiled, "Alright. We'll be back later Marina."

"Alright!" Marina practically jumped then gave her parents a big hug, purring twice before letting them go and running back to the kitchen.

"Have fun, I need to get back to watching them." Grams headed into the kitchen as Tugs and Connie left.

"It is going to be boring, Connie. Wish we could stay here," Tugs sighed as he buckled in and Connie started the cloud car.

"Me too, but it's for my kid brother and I want him to know I'm happy for him." They took off towards Earth.

OoOoO

The graduation ceremony seemed to drag on forever as the graduates received their diplomas and it seemed like every member of their faculty got up to deliver a speech. Take Care and Cautious Heart didn't have much trouble staying awake, though Cautious Heart occasionally checked her heartphone when the speeches dragged on a bit too long. As for the 'Pride of Regal Heart' as some called it, only about half of them managed to keep their attention focused on the ceremony.

Regal Heart Lioness and Stellar Heart Tiger sat together, paws clasped, tails intertwined and heads leaned up against one another as they watched their son Pace with pride; Stellar couldn't resist crying at the sight. Their youngest child, Faith Heart Liger, sat next to them, her gaze wandering all over the crowd and sometimes down to her feet.

Hopeful Heart Liger sat with her husband Darien and their young son Stealth Heart Liger (technically a li-tigon as he was only one quarter tiger but liger was easier to remember), a tawny liger with widely spaced black stripes, a full black lion's mane and a black tuft on the tip of his tail; his tummy symbol was a pair of white sneakers, one lying on its side with the laces undone, on a yellow star background. He was a little over 2 years old, around 14 years for a Care Bear. Darien's gaze kept dropping and at one point he had to take hold of his son's shoulder to keep him from sneaking off and getting lost in the crowd.

Brave Heart and Feral Heart sat together with their 1-year-old (6 in appearance) daughter Joyful Heart Liger seated between them, bouncing on her seat unless Feral rested a hand on her shoulder. Joyful Heart was a lime green liger with black stripes and a lime green lion's tuft on the end of her tail whose tummy symbol was rainbow-colored fireworks on a pink heart background. Their fully grown son, Royal Heart Liger, sat next to his father, occasionally checking his heartphone to play a game instead of listening to the speeches. Royal Heart was a sea green liger with black strikes and a nearly full mane and a lion's tuft on his tail; his tummy symbol was a heart with a gold and jeweled scepter laid across it from the upper right to the lower left.

Chance Heart Liger sat with his wife, Shy Heart cougar: an ice blue cougar whose tummy symbol was a blushing star buddy, both dividing their attention between the ceremony and each other. Their twin sons, Chaos and Havoc Li-Cougar, sat next to them and didn't even bother to look up from their heartphones until Pace or Get Well were visible. Havoc was the elder of the twins, a pale cream feline with widely spaced light blue stripes, a very short mane and no tuft to the end of his tail and a tummy symbol of a blue tornado with hearts mixed into the contents; he resembled his mother more than his father, other than his mane and stripes. Chaos was a light blue feline with cream colored stripes more closely spaced than his brother's, a cream colored tail tuft and a tummy symbol that was a blue tornado with stars mixed into the 'debris', all of which made him resemble his father.

Connie and Tugs sat with Hugs near the edge of the crowd, Hugs grinning and giddy in her seat as her two closest friends were receiving their diplomas.

As soon as the ceremony was finished and the hats were thrown, Hugs bolted out of her seat and right towards the approaching Patient Heart Liger and Get Well Bear. Neither had the chance to jump aside as Hugs literally bowled into them, pulling them into a tight hug as they fell to the ground.

"Ack Hugs! Let me up!" Get Well tried to wiggle out of her friend's grasp to no avail.

Hugs gave one last tight squeeze before helping them to stand, whereupon she immediately pulled them into another hug, "I missed you guys!"

Patient hugged her back, hoping she wouldn't notice the blush that crept onto his cheeks, "I missed you too, Hugs."

"Me too," Get Well hugged her back then peered over Hug's shoulder. She smiled and waved a hand towards Take Care and Cautious Heart.

Hugs finally let them go only to have Pace literally swarmed by his family, all of whom couldn't wait to shake his hand, clap him on the back or give him a big hug, especially Regal and Stellar.

Despite her nature, Cautious Heart Cat immediately hugged big sister, "Congratulations."

Get Well hugged her back, "Thanks, Cautious." She let go as Take Care approached.

Get Well was taken aback when her mother started to cry and pulled her into a big hug, for once not seeming to notice that she was in the midst of a huge crowd. "I'm so proud of you," Take Care spoke quietly into Get Well's ear.

Get Well smiled as she began to cry too and hugged Take Care, "Thanks mom, I promise I'll do everything I can now."

Cautious Heart couldn't help but tear up as well so turned her gaze back to the others, nearly bursting out with laughter as Pace was assaulted by his massive extended family.

OoOoO

After having the excess baking ingredients scrubbed out of their fur, Marina, Flair and Mira listened to one of Grams' stories, telling about some of their parent's adventures before they were born. By the time the story was over they heard the ding of the kitchen stove and five minutes later they were sitting on Grams' couch enjoying the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Rapid knocking on the front door signaled the arrival of one of their families. Marina groaned as she heard the voices of her cousins, Chaos and Havoc enter ahead of their parents.

"Hey kiddo, your mom asked us to pick you up," Havoc darted forwards and snatched a cookie of the plate in front of the trio.

"Hey!" Mira shouted as Chaos also dove in to steal a cookie.

"Where's mom and dad?" Marina demanded, looking past her cousins to where Chance and Shy Heart stood at the front door.

"They're helping to set up the party tonight," Chance rolled his eyes, "for some reason they didn't want us to help."

"Maybe because they don't want to risk any pranks or traps being set up, Chance," Shy Heart said.

"Com'on, Shy-Shy, who doesn't love a surprise to liven up a party?" Chance held up his arms. Shy Heart just sighed and gave Chance a look of mock despair.

"Can you believe she's a year older than us?" Havoc asked as he ruffled Marina's headfur none to gently.

"Yeah, she's a shrimp," Chaos giggled, "Is she ever going to grow up?"

Marina had finally had enough, she jumped to her feet and glared up at her twin cousins, "I'm not a shrimp!" She did her best not to raise her upper lip, which Connie told her was very rude.

"Leave her alone!" Flair Heart was up at Marina's side at an instant.

"Back off, jerks!" Mira was on her feet, reflexively taking a martial arts stance.

Hearing her friends back her up emboldened Marina and she grinned up at the two Li-cougars, "I'm not growing up slow, you're growing up too fast!" she pointed a finger at them, "You're all grown up now so you have all those responsibilities and you didn't enjoy being cubs, but me," she pointed to herself with her thumb, "I'm gonna enjoy being a kid as long as I can, especially with my friends." She felt comforting hands on her shoulders from Mira and Flair and relaxed.

Grams Bear couldn't help but chuckle, having watched the display from her kitchen doorway. "Very good, Marina. No reason to rush growing up, there's plenty of time for that in the future."

Marina smiled, "Thanks, Great Grams Bear."

Flair and Mira both joined hands with Marina, "Com'on, we'll take you home," Mira said.

"Yeah, let the tornado twins do their own thing," Flair Heart added. He stuck out his tongue at Chaos and Havoc before the three of them darted out the door with Mira in the lead.

Havoc blinked, "What just happened?"

Chance walked over to his sons and put an arm around each of their shoulders, "You both got schooled about life by your older cousin."

Shy Heart couldn't help but smirk, "She really is more mature than the three of you."

"Hey," Chance gave a fake pout, then laughed and turned around to give Shy Heart a big kiss, making her blush at the display.

OoOoO

Later that night there was a massive party in the Hall of Hearts to celebrate the return of Patient Heart and Get Well from university. Everyone attended, food was served and Anger Heart Fox, Brave Heart Lion, Harmony Bear and Guidance Heart Raccoon offered to perform for them once they gave their return speeches.

Get Well went first, smiling brightly as she stood in front of the assembled family. "It's good to be home. University wasn't as bad as mom made it out to be but I was lucky enough to have a good friend for a room mate," she nodded towards Pace before she continued, "I see a lot of new faces here, I guess we missed out on a lot of families starting while I was gone. To everyone who hasn't met me yet: Hello, I'm Get Well Bear, Take Care's daughter and now your second doctor. I'll be starting at our hospital tomorrow so maybe next time I'll be seeing you there, but hopefully not." Get Well chuckled, "I know Pace isn't one for speeches but I think he wants to at least say something." She stepped down as Patient Heart took her place.

"Hello. I don't have much to say different than what Get Well said, except that most of the new faces are nieces and nephews of mine. I'm going to be a veterinarian so I'm going to be looking for an internship on Earth after I've had some time to relax." Pace stepped down without much fuss.

The band took this as their signal to start playing, with Anger Heart and Guidance Heart singing.

"_Bye Bye Yesterday" _by **3-nen E-gumi Utatan**, cover by /channel/UC-zquYmXjZTddb_cyD-8VXQ

/watch?v=9jBwT_56MnU

_"Just wait a second," I know I'm not heard_

_Screaming out, and yet they never hear a word_

_I've wasted every bit of energy_

_Fearing this world as the limits close around me_

_The time is passing with the days that we see_

_Watching though I know it'll leave me_

_It's like they're taking all the memories I loved so_

_Now I wonder if I'll ever sleep anymore_

_Though we laughed and said goodbye_

_Though tears were in our eyes_

_Time passed before we even knew the reason why_

_Once we hear that final bell_

_There's nothing left to tell_

_But it echoes in my mind - all the time_

_BYE BYE YESTERDAY_

_It's been a year of cramming through those lessons that I never really knew_

_Tomorrow we'll do it all again_

_"I know I'll see you soon" as if it never really ends_

_BYE BYE YESTERDAY_

_It's been a year of cramming through those lessons though I never wanted to_

_You helped me see just who I wanted to be_

_But still my tears fall_

_Guess you never knew it all_

_BYE BYE YESTERDAY_

_It's been a year of cramming through those lessons back when I was here with you_

_We'll grow as time will pass us by_

_But still the colors in our memories shine_

Take Care slipped out of the Hall of Hearts in the middle of the chorus. She was happy for her daughter but she had to get out of that party.

A few minutes into her walk she heard footsteps running up the path behind her. She stopped and turned around to see Independent Bear running up to her with a large food covered in plastic wrap in his hands.

Indy slowed to a stop, "Here, I got some food from the buffet before it was all gone."

Take Care couldn't help but smile, "I was going to go home and cook dinner."

"Well eat this first," Indy walked alongside Take Care as she resumed her walk home, "Save you time so you can just relax tonight."

"Sounds like a good idea, I just wanted to make sure Get Well was alright before I left." Take Care said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind just quiet evening," Indy said as the hospital came into view.

Take Care opened the door then stood inside, holding it open for Indy, "Why don't you join me then?"

"Thanks, Take Care," Indy walked past her and just barely suppressed his blush until he passed by her. He set the food tray on the kitchen counter, "Excuse me a moment," he kept his back to Take Care then darted for the bathroom. Take Care didn't even register as she took the plastic wrap off the food tray and took a bite of some cheese.

In the bathroom, after doing his business and washing his hands, Indy had to splash water on his face to try and calm down. He stared at his now wet reflection and shook his head, he had to keep it together if only for the sake of their friendship. Blurting out a confession or trying to do anything else would be wrong. He could live with this, how was it any different than the last decade?... because now he knew he felt different and he had to face that if only in his own mind. He grabbed the hand towel and dried his face, letting out a small burst of psionics to push his hair back.

Indy grabbed the edged of the sink as another spasm rocked through his body. Twice in one day… He took a deep breath as the spasm passed then stood up. He'd just have to face this the same way he was going to face his new feelings for Take Care, by keeping it suppressed so it wouldn't hurt anyone.

By the time he exited the bathroom, Take Care was already seated in her living room armchair with a mystery novel in her hands and the plate of food on the coffee table in front of her. She looked up at Indy as he entered but merely smiled and said nothing. Indy smiled back, popped a chunk of cheese into his mouth, then grabbed a favorite book of his off Take Care's bookshelves and sat down on the couch as close to her as possible. He did his best to focus on his book but kept stealing glances towards Take Care. Authoritative and caring but calm even under the harshest pressure when she needed to be, he never thought about her this way before. He forced himself to turn back to his novel, knowing that this would fade with enough time and he could go back to just being her friend without feeling awkward…

Maybe…

OoOoO

Defender Bear nodded at the four young children in front of him, the one in the middle holding a children's basketball, "Alright then, go have fun and don't get into another fight." He smiled as he watched them run to the park's small basketball court then leaned back against the small fence that surrounded the park. Caring missions had picked up over the last few years but surprisingly they had become easier, ever since the Kingdom of Caring had become members of the U.N. parents had become much less nervous about their presence and no one objected to them dropping out the sky to dispense advice or even physical aid to their children. It also helped that after No-Heart's defeat Cold Heart had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth, which they assumed was due to the power the Magi had displayed against Dusk Heart and No-Heart a decade ago and not being able to deal with that power himself.

A sudden chill ran up Defender's spine and then through the rest of his limbs. At the same time the basketball the children were playing with suddenly bounced away from them, as if thrown by a bad pass.

"Hey come back!" one of the children ran after the ball as it bounced towards a man who hadn't been there a moment ago, who caught the ball. He was tall, about 175cm, and dressed in all black: pants, shoes, socks, shirt and open high-collared trench coat; even the irises of his eyes were dark-grey, almost black.

'_**Pheonix Audubon. We meet at last.'**_

The sharp voice echoed inside Defender's mind.

As the child approached the man smiled at him, "Is this yours?" he asked in a high sweet voice.

The child stepped back from the stranger and his odd smile. "Yes."

The man bent forwards and offered the ball to the child, "Here you go, I'm no good at throwing."

The child stepped forwards and took the offered ball. The man patted the child's head, then with one swift motion he grabbed the child's head and gave a sudden twist, snapping his neck!

Defender stared then blinked and shook head…only to see the child just fine and running back to his friends.

The man shook with silent laughter, looking happy to all outside but the voice in Defender's head was much more sinister.

'_**Hehahahaha! That reaction was priceless. I'm surprised you fell for it.'**_

Not wanting to draw too much attention to what was going on, Defender just thought the words aloud in his head, expecting the man to be able to hear him, _'Who are you? What do you want?'_

The man turned his back to Defender Bear, _**'My name is Mental Heart. I'm here for you and the rest of your kind.'**_

'_What?'_ Defender tensed and his hand strayed under his cloak ready to draw his sword.

'_**I wouldn't do that.'**_ Defender froze, his hand on his sword's hilt, _**'I can feel them all around us. So many living, breathing people. Oh I don't doubt that you would avoid drawing them into the fight, but…'**_

There was a sudden scream and Defender's attention shot to a man who had just collapsed on the sidewalk. People gathered around as the woman he had been talking to started babbling, "We were talking and he just collapsed!"

Defender Bear just stared as Mental Heart's voice spoke again. _**'It's almost too easy, and they're so fragile, especially the children. Do you still want to fight me?'**_

'_Leave them out of this!'_ Defender was about to charge. _'If you want to fight then fight me!'_

'_**In good time, for now enjoy what little time you and the rest of your kind have left. I have a feeling your lessons about sharing your feelings are about to become pointless.'**_ Mental Heart walked away as the approaching sound of sirens were heard.

Defender watched as an ambulance pulled up and the paramedics jumped out to tend to the man who had collapsed, then he heard one of the kids pull out a smartphone to answer a call. "What? What happened to mom!?" Then the other children's phones rang. By the time Defender turned back to Mental Heart, he had vanished.


	2. Visitors from Beyond Time and Space

Chapter 2: Visitors from Beyond Time and Space

Love Heart was stunned as Defender delivered his report about Mental Heart. "What did you do after that?"

"I was able to revive the man he killed, but I couldn't get to the children's parents before they were sent to the hospital," Defender leaned up against the wall. "I tried to get in to help but they wouldn't let me, so now each of those children have lost a parent."

Love Heart's face hardened, "Right. We need to warn everyone about Mental Heart. Keep everyone on alert and no solo missions for the foreseeable future. I need to talk to Tenderheart and Brave Heart then I need to visit Fauna and Blue."

"Is that why you're wearing your uniform?" Defender asked.

Love Heart looked down at his sky blue 'prince general' uniform, "Yes, this is official business."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Defender took a deep breath.

Love Heart put a hand on Defender's shoulder, "You did all you could, I don't expect us to anticipate everything that's going to happen. I just need to worry about this 'first contact' situation in the next few days, go spend time with your family, Defender."

Defender nodded, "I will, excuse me." He turned and left followed shortly by Love Heart.

OoOoO

Get Well had planned to unpack then start her apprenticeship under her mother right after the party, but she was so burned out from exams and studying that she ended up sleeping for a full day after the party then stuffed her clothes in the washing machine in the hospital's basement before going right back to bed. Even after that she only muddled her way through unpacking.

Take Care was all to willing to let her daughter go at her own pace, remembering just how tired she was after her years at college. She smiled when she finally saw Get Well slump down at the lunch table with her, having been drawn by the smell of ravioli.

"Finally back on your feet?" Take Care set a bowl in front of her.

Get gave a weak smile, "Yeah, I didn't realize just how tired I was."

"I know how you feel, reminds me of when I first came back from college." Take Care sat down with her own bowl.

"Well I'm ready now," they both turned as Cautious Heart emerged, wearing an adult human sized t-shirt, looking like a human child wearing their parent's clothing.

"Well good afternoon, Cautious," Take Care watched as her second daughter served herself, "You're up late."

"Yeah, stayed up late reading." Cautious turned to Get Well and smiled, "Nice to see you home too."

"I've found her with her face in a book a few times, so what are you doing today?" Take Care asked.

"I promised Meek Heart and Wild Heart I'd go on a practise caring mission if it comes up today, until then Tinker Bear wanted to spend some time with me in her workshop." Cautious Heart bolted down her food then headed back to her bedroom to shed her sleeping shirt and shower.

Get Well had just absorbed what Cautious had said before she vanished into the shower, "She's busy lately. I thought for sure she's be a nurse here by the time I came back."

Take Care shook her head, "I thought about asking her, but you chose to be a doctor of your own volition and I didn't want to try to force her down the same path we took. I'm proud of her for taking this seriously."

They both watched as Cautious Heart hurried past, stopping just to give Get Well a hug, "Welcome home, sis," then bolting out the door.

"These days I'm lucky if I see her at meal times." Take Care sighed as she finished off her lunch.

"Have you been lonely, mom?" Get Well had just finished and took her bowl to the sink.

Take Care smiled as she filled the sink, "Not as much as I thought, I mean the empty nest syndrome has started to set in lately, but Indy's helped keep me company."

"Independent Bear?" Get Well sounded surprised.

Take Care nodded, "He's been visiting me almost every day for the last ten years, stopping by in the early afternoon and just spending time with me. Reading, talking or just keeping me company while I work."

"He doesn't bother you while you work?"

"No, he's quiet when I'm working and he is there whenever something starts to frustrate me, and we compare a lot of notes on what stories we're reading. We tried to watch a few movies together but that's never been our thing," Take Care rolled her eyes, "He did help me when Bright Heart and Gentle Heart insisted that I watch 'The Wrath of Kahn' last year. I admit it was exciting but I was relieved when it was over."

"And he doesn't mind your country music?" Get Well gave a smirk. Few in the Kingdom of Caring shared Take Care's taste in music, except maybe Brave Heart and Get Well suspected that he had picked it up from her.

Take Care laughed, "I asked him once and he said 'after listening to Confidence's anime music most of my life, I'm just happy for the change'."

Get Well chuckled, "I guess it helps that he can understand the lyrics too. Why didn't you tell me this when I came to visit?"

Take Care put the last of the dishes in the cupboard, "Because I wanted to hear about your time in college, not spend time talking about my life. Alright," she clapped her hands together, "now that we're done lunch I think it's time you started your apprenticeship. I'll tell you right now everything you've learned was just practise for the real thing."

Get Well tensed but smiled, "Good, I'm ready to learn everything you have to teach, mom."

Take Care led her into the hospital part of their home, "First you need to re-familiarise yourself with the layout of the hospital."

OoOoO

Patient Heart sat in front of his computer silently scanning internship opportunities at a number of veterinary clinics and animal shelters, jotting down the ones that seemed like the best choices on a paper pad.

"Hey, big brother, whatch'a doing?" Faith Heart seemed to materialize behind Pace, making him jump slightly. He'd forgotten how she was able to do that, either that or a decade living with Get Well (who was just as busy studying) had lowered his guard.

Faith Heart didn't wait for an answer and instead stared at the screen, "You're getting ready to leave already?"

Pace sighed and spun around in his chair, "The sooner I get an internship, the better. Most of these don't start for at least a month, if not later."

Faith slumped down on Pace's bed, "It's been so lonely here, it's just dad, mom, me and four empty bedrooms. Your ceiling is dirty."

Pace looked up, then back down to his sister, "If I don't get an internship as soon as possible then it could be months before I can start."

"At least stay long enough to get to know all your new cousins, and sister-in-law." Faith rolled onto her front, her tail flicking, "You barely visited even for Christmas."

Pace sighed, "If I don't want them mobbing me every time I come home then I guess I should at least spend time with all of them, and my friends."

"Great, see ya at lunch!" Faith hopped up from his bed and practically pranced out of the room.

Pace turned back to his computer and saved the pages of his top five choices before he shut down. All other things aside, he needed some fresh air.

OoOoO

Love Heart easily navigated his way to the secret portal to Pegasus Falls and met Red Snout on the other side. Love Heart saluted, "Greetings. You got my message?"

Red Snout was looking uncomfortable but he nodded, "The Kingsire and Queendame are expecting you. Follow me please." Red Snout spread his wings and took off and Love Heart launched into the air alongside him.

"Can we drop all this formal crap while we're flying. I feel like one of the old council," Red Snout visible shook himself to un-stiffen his joints even as he was flying.

Love Heart smirked, "Believe me, I get sick of it too but I need to keep up the practise. So how are things working out for you and Dagger?"

Red Snout smirked, "Great, we have a foal on the way. I'll let you know when he's born."

"Or she," Love Heart laughed.

"Nah, I got a feeling it's going to be a colt." Red Snout kept his gaze forwards, "Alright, here we are." Love Heart and Red Snout landed at the entrance to the royal caves.

Love Heart saluted to the two guards on duty, who did the same with their wings, "Are the Kingsire and Queendame at home."

"Yes," One of the guards spoke immediately, "They are expecting you."

"Thank you." Love Heart turned to Red Snout, "I'll see you later, after I stop by the polar region."

"No problem," Red Snout took off as Love Heart entered the royal caves.

The caves hadn't changed much since the last time Love Heart visited, still feeling very much like a human living room as opposed to anything where a family of magical winged horses would live.

Love Heart spotted the red tiger trying to sneak up on him and dodged aside as she pounced, tapping her back with minor jolt of static as he did so.

"OW! Hey!" The tiger rounded on him.

"Sorry, Ruby, but you have to do better than that." Love Heart chuckled.

"Alright," Ruby Tiger's tail twitched and she pounced again.

This went on for the next few minutes before Love Heart managed to pin Ruby under his foot, "That's enough, you're getting better though."

Ruby huffed as Love Heart let her up and she changed back into her true pegasus form, "I'll get you some day."

"I doubt that," the voice came from Ruby's twin Brother, Arrow Golden Eagle who was in his true form as well, "Mom and dad are waiting for you, we were on our way out."

"Right, Queenling Ruby and Kingling Arrow," Love Heart watched Ruby cringe slightly as she and Arrow exited.

Fauna and Blue had stood to one side as Love Heart dismissed their children. "Alright, much as I hate to say this, let's hear the business you have," Fauna said.

Love Heart nodded, "Yesterday at the UN we were informed that an extraterrestrial craft is approaching Earth and the Kingdom of Caring was asked to host a first contact meeting with them. Though Pegasus Falls is not a member of the UN I felt you should be aware of such a monumental change that will be coming soon."

"You mean aliens?" Fauna sounded astonished.

"Put bluntly: yes," Love Heart said.

"That is big news. What do you plan to do exactly?" Blue stepped closer. Though they were friends both had to think about their own people first.

"The only objective we have is to determine their intentions, after that we need to figure out if they're any sort of threat." Love Heart sighed and was about to speak when Fauna interrupted him.

"You can skip the 'you would know this if you were part of the UN' speech. We're just fine being hidden away from the rest of the world for now."

"At least until the hunters are dealt with," Blue added.

Love Heart sighed, "I know, but still, the longer you remain hidden the more dangerous things become, and if you don't do it yourselves then your existence might be breached by surprise and any hunters with political influence will use that to turn the world against you." Love Heart smiled, "Believe me, I find all this political crap as painful as you do."

Fauna gave a derisive laugh, "HA! Got that right. So are you just here to talk about the alien invasion or can you visit?"

Love Heart turned halfway towards the door, "Wish I could, but I have to get ready for first contact and I want to visit White Fang, Aurora and Starfang before I go home, Nova and Ren too if I can find the time not to mention Red Snout and Dagger."

"Alright then. Stop by some time," Blue waved as wing as Love Heart departed.

The flight to the polar region was always cold but a quick warmth spell cast over his body kept Love Heart warm even as he flew low to the ground. He grinned as he spotted Starfang playing in the snow and landed right next to him. "Hey, Starfang."

"Uncle Love Heart!" Starfang flapped his wings and all but cannoned into Love Heart, who easily caught him and set him down. Starfang was now in his adolescence, his once silver fur patching through to a sky blue coat and his horn having grown in.

"Good to see you too, Star. Missing Meek and Wild?" Love Heart tousled his mane.

Starfang nodded, "Yeah, can they visit?"

Love Heart chuckled, "I'll ask mom and dad to pay you a visit. Speaking of which, where are your parents?"

"Mom's home, but Dad went to help Renegade with some training, I think…" Starfang looked like he was trying to cross his eyes, but failed.

"Well I came to visit for a while, mind if I go in?" Love Heart asked.

"Nope, have fun." Starfang spotted a nearby group of white wolves, grinned then took off.

Love Heart ducked into the enlarged igloo, "Hello, Aurora?"

Aurora lay in the main room, studying a magic tome, when she looked up and smiled at him, "Hello, Love Heart. Come for a visit?"

"Yes, and for an update," he looked at the arm of his general's uniform, "We may have to deal with aliens soon…"

OoOoO

Bright Heart sat in front of his desktop with Love Heart, Brave Heart, Tenderheart and his wife Gentle Heart standing behind him.

Brave Heart tapped his foot impatiently, "Well, can you call them, Bright Heart?"

"I think so, but it's hard to tell if I'm on the right frequency," Bright Heart didn't look up from his work, "I'm sending out a series of signals and watching for a reaction from whatever kind of communications array they use, then I need to try and contact them verbally."

Brave Heart sighed and folded his arms then turned to Gentle Heart, "Are you two going to have kids anytime soon?"

Gentle Heart shook her head, "No, we're not ready for that yet. Maybe someday," Gentle Heart looked wistful for a moment then shook her head. "I'm more excited for this. Just think, real people from another world coming to visit us!" Gentle Heart giggled and clasped her hands together.

"I think I have it," Bright Heart picked up the microphone and handed it to Tenderheart, "Alright, Tenderheart, it's all yours."

Tenderheart nodded and accepted the microphone, "Attention unidentified extraterrestrial vessel, can you hear me? I represent the planet you are approaching. Please respond."

The voice that replied was feminine but held an air of sternness about it, "What? How can you even talk to us? How do you speak our language?"

Bright Heart smiled and looked up to Tenderheart who continued, "That'll take some time to explain. For now, we're going to try and send you coordinates where you have to land if you're going to make contact with our planet."

There was muffle discussion from the other side before the voice replied again, "Have you detected any other ships approaching your planet?"

Everyone in the room shared a look of concern before Tenderheart replied, "No, should we have?"

"Maybe…" the voice hesitated, "Send the coordinates and we'll land there in about four hours."

"OK." Tenderheart nodded to Bright Heart who sent a text message along the same communication line.

A moment later the voice replied sounding exasperated, "You want us to land in the sky? On clouds?"

Tenderheart was in no mood to deal with the incredulousness of their guests so he took a firmer line, "Yes. The clouds can support your ship. We will see you and appropriate time."

"Alright." The communications line shut off.

Tenderheart set the microphone down, "There. All we have to do is wait."

OoOoO

Everyone from the Care Bear Family had arrived to await the arrival of this ship, staring up at a growing dark speck in the sky. The landing site was the large expanse of clouds that separated the old Caring Castle from Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings. Tenderheart and Brave Heart were wearing their formal UN wear while Love Heart was in his general's uniform. Love Heart glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the Magi who were dressed as formally as each of them preferred: Confidence in her Karate Gi, Defender Bear wearing his tan vest and shirt under his cloak which was red on the inside and blue on the outside, Truth Bear in a brown overcoat, Indy wearing his black longcoat with a Katana pre-conjured at his side, Sage Heart wearing an orange cloak and Anger Heart, Guidance Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart without anything on.

A massive roar from overhead drew their attention as the ship finally came close enough to be seen, though it wasn't as large as they thought it would be. It was entirely white with an angular oval central body, four forward-swept wings that made an X, a large dorsal fin on with the painted on red silhouette of what looked like a fox with a wing extending from its back, a large pod at the top of its bow with a large window, a pair of cannons extended from the middle of the bow right above an open hangar bay, one large engine flanked by two smaller ones on the stern and on the sides. Near the top of each side of the ship, there was large green text written in another language; once it was in range they were able to decipher what it said.

STARFOX

Anger Heart was the first to speak, "Star _fox_?" he tapped the crystal on the magical translation necklace he wore, "is this thing broken?"

"No, I see it too!" Soulful Heart was forced to shout over the roar of the engines.

"How the hell can the know what foxes are?!" Anger Heart shouted back, then covered his ears, as did everyone else the ship came into land, landing struts extending so the lower wings wouldn't scrape the clouds.

They all uncovered their ears as the ship's engines shut off and stared to meet the crew as the boarding ramp extended from the hangar. Tenderheart nodded to Brave Heart and Love Heart then the three of them approached as the crew of the ship descended the ramp.

They stopped about ten meters apart and just stared at each other. The crew of the ship were anthropomorphic animals much like the Care Bears, although they had leaner and more muscular builds compared to the more 'stuffed toy' proportions of the rest of the Care Bear Family; all six of them wore the same style of flight suits (albeit in different colors) with white boots and a heavy white flight jacket

The one in front was a light brown fox with a vertical white stripe on his forehead and a white muzzle wearing a green flight suit with a red neck bandana. At his immediate right was a fennec fox with light brown fur wearing a pink flight suit and at the fox's left was a grey hare with a white muzzle wearing a red flight suit. Behind them there was a blue bird with a yellow beak and red rings around his eyes wearing a red flight suit walking next to a pink cat in a yellow flight suit holding what looked like a blue infant cat in her arms. Right behind the fennec was a green toad or frog who stood a head shorter than the rest of the group wearing a blue flight suit.

They all just stood still for a moment and stared at each other until Tenderheart stepped forwards and held a hand forwards, "Greetings. My name is Tenderheart Bear, prime diplomat of the Kingdom of Caring. Welcome to Earth."

The fox was a bit stunned but extended his own hand forwards, "Fox Pheonix-McCloud, commander of the Star Fox mercenary team from the Lylat system." He watched as Tenderheart took his hand and shook it, and he gripped back which made the bear wince. "These are my team members, Peppy Hare, veteran and mentor," he turned to the hare then the toad as he stepped up alongside them, "Slippy Toad, our engineer," he turned to the bird and cat, "Falco Lombardi our ace pilot and his wife Katt Lombardi and their daughter Kalico," He turned and smiled to the Fennec, "And last but not least, my wife and second in command, Fara Phoenix-McCloud."

Tenderheart nodded and released his hand, shaking it from the grip Fox had given him, "I don't have time to introduce everyone but this Brave Heart Lion, our public relations minister and Prince General Love Heart Bear of the Care Bear Magi."

Fara stepped forwards and shook Brave Heart's hand and Peppy did the same to Love Heart Bear.

"Honestly, I thought my first encounter with aliens would be a little more…different," Brave Heart chuckled.

"I admit that I didn't expect to encounter creatures like ourselves so far from home," Fara said as she released Brave Heart's hand. "Are you the main form of life on this planet?"

"No, that would be humans, but they live down on the surface," Brave Heart pointed down at the clouds.

"We've only recently joined in their governmental coalition called the United Nations, about ten years ago," Love Heart said. "There are billions of humans but less than one hundred of us."

"I'm curious, how can we understand each other?" Peppy asked.

"It's the nature of our species," Tenderheart said, "We're creatures of magic and part of the magic has given us the gift of tongues, or in other words the ability to magically understand, speak and read any language even ones we've never encountered before."

"Most of us," Love Heart tapped the glowing crystal on the necklace around his neck, "We Care Bear Magi were created as a sort of super soldier so we lack that ability, but we've created these necklaces that allow us the same ability as the rest of our kind."

"Magic?" Peppy eye's widened, "Well we have psionic abilities in our system, Fara and I are Psions," he extended an arm towards Fara, "I'm not sure if it's the same thing."

"It's not, Psionics exist here as well," Love Heart turned over his shoulder to Indy, who just nodded, "My brother, Independent Bear, is psionic as well."

Falco cleared his throat, "Look, I'm as excited about first contact as anyone, but what about Andross."

Fox nodded, "Right. Sorry to cut the fun stuff short but did you see any other ships approaching this planet."

Love Heart tensed up, "Another ship?"

Fara nodded, "We didn't come here for first contact. We're tracking a war criminal named Andross here. We thought we had killed him in a recent war for our system but we found out that he fled through warp space and tracked him to this planet. He's a powerful psionic and might be masking his ship from conventional sensors if he's already here."

"Truthfully we had hoped to track him down and kill or capture him without contacting your planet," Fox sighed, "We're mercenaries, not diplomats."

"Then consider this joint operation to be our first cooperative mission." Love Heart smiled, "Of course you'll have to visit the United Nations to present your case, if you want help."

"As long as we're here now I suppose it's unavoidable," Peppy said. "Can you arrange a meeting?"

"As soon as we can contact them. In the meantime, we can give you a tour of our little kingdom in the sky and introduce you to everyone," Tenderheart motioned to the assembled Care Bear Family.

While everyone was talking, Gentle Heart noticed the distressed look on Bright Heart's face. "Bright, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just nervous about all of this." Bright Heart forced a smile and took her hand.

Fox was about to say something when they all heard a beeping from one of his jacket pockets. "Just a moment," he pulled out flat cell-phone like device and pressed a button causing the image of a shovel-jawed grey robot to appear on the screen, "What's going on ROB?"

"SHIP DETECTED IN HIGH ORBIT SURROUNDING PLANET AND DESCNEDING TOWARDS THE SURFACE."

All the Star Fox team members congregated around Fox as he narrowed his eyes and replied, "Is it Andross?"

"NEGATIVE. SHIP PROFILE AND DESIGN MATCH THAT OF ARWING CLASS FIGHTER BUT IS CONSTRUCTED OF UNKOWN ALLOY. WARP SIGNATURE CONTAINS TRACES OF PSYCHONITE."

"Psychonite?" Fara instinctively gripped the sapphire pendant around her neck. "Contact them, we need to find out what's they're doing."

"AFFIRMATIVE, OPENING CHANNEL. PATCHING THROUGH."

Every member of the Care Bear Family jumped when they heard the voice. "Fox Phoenix-McCloud. I'm sorry to startle you like this but I have urgent information about your search that I need to deliver to you."

Fox stared at the screen, then looked up at Tenderheart, then back to the screen, "Who are you?"

"That's hard to explain, it'll have to wait until I land. Do I have your clearance?"

"Alright, but I need a good explanation for this when you do." Fox shut off the communicator.

Brave Heart turned to Tenderheart, "That sounded like you."

Tenderheart nodded, "I know but, that's impossible."

"He looked like you too. Whoever he is he's landing right away, look," Fox pointed up to the sky

Everyone looked up as the sleek fighter flew through the atmosphere and circled around to land near the Great Fox. It had a white angular conical body with a painted on cockpit decal, blue upper and lower fins on both sides of the fuselage and backward-swept wings. The engine noise was thankfully minimal as it landed right in front of the Great Fox.

Everyone was on edge, especially the Magi and Star Fox who were readying themselves if the ship or its occupant suddenly decided to attack. Everyone held their breath as the side of the fighter opened and swung down into a ramp as the occupant stepped out.

Everyone stared as Tenderheart Bear stepped out of the cockpit, wearing a brown Star Fox flight suit and white Star Fox jacket with his long brown hair done back in a single braid. No one spoke as he approached and saluted Fox then turned to face Tenderheart, "Greetings. My name is Tenderheart Bear, Commander of the Star Fox Team. I'm from over five years in the future."

No one was quite sure what to make of what the new Tenderheart had said but he continued, "I know this is going to be hard to swallow but I'm here to warn you: In less than a year this planet will be destroyed by No-Heart and his allies: his brother Quenos, Andross, Cold Heart and Mental Heart." He watched the stunned faces of everyone staring at him, and noted that Love Heart was still tensed for action.

True Heart took a deep breath and approached the bear, "Is this all true?" she reached up and took the future Tenderheart's face in her hands.

Tenderheart met her gaze, watching her quivering blue eyes. "Yes, True Heart, I promise you this is all true." He took her hand and held it, then turned to the rest of the assembly, "Fox, you die saving us in an orbital battle before we warp to the Lylat system, and other than myself the only survivors of the Care Bear Family are: Cheer Bear, Confidence Heart Fennec, Defender Bear, Hope Bear, Take Care Bear, Bright Heart Raccoon, Patient Heart Liger, Hugs Bear, Perfect Panda," Tenderheart paused for a moment to collect himself, "Contrary Heart Liger, Get Well Bear, and Soulful Heart Fox."

True Heart clutched the radiant heart crystal on her necklace as Noble Heart walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I trust True Heart and I'm willing to believe you, but do you have any proof of this?"

Future Tenderheart nodded, "I'm willing to undergo a medical exam and DNA testing to prove who I am," he looked over to Take Care, "And I have some gifts from the future." He walked back to his Arwing and stepped inside. A moment later he emerged with a large black sword strapped to his back and a large metal box in his hands. Everyone watched as he approached them and lifted the lid off the box, "These are messages from all the future versions of you that survived, except me," he turned to present Tenderheart who was still at a loss for words, "I'll talk to you later Tenderheart."

"OK." The normally composed Tenderheart was still trying to process everything.

Future Tenderheart turned to face Slippy, "And Slippy I have something more important for you," he jerked his head towards the landed fighter, "That is an Arwing Mk V, constructed with experimental alloys and technology by you, Bright Heart and a pilot named Faye Spaniel." He shifted the box to one arm and pulled out two devices that looked like thick smart phones. "One of these datapads has a message for you to watch and listen to and the other contains all the data needed for the technology I brought back with me: Laminate Titnaium, Durabillum, Particle Beam Weapons, Nova Torpedoes, and schematics for the Arwing Mk V, Bomber, Interceptor and a couple other experimental ships you can use when you get back to Lylat."

Slippy approached and took the datapads, "Looks like the same data storage device we use. Thank you."

Fara stepped forwards and spoke with a strong voice, "If you do come from the future, tell us how you were able to travel back in time."

Tenderheart nodded, "There's an experimental time drive in that ship powered and controlled by psychonite." Before Fara could ask her follow-up question he sent a telepathic message to everyone present, _'Yes, I am psionic.'_

"You're psionic?! I'm Psionic?! We're psionic?!" Tenderheart finally couldn't handle any more and clutched his head, "What is all of this?! Am I going crazy?!"

"Alright that's enough." Take Care Bear stepped forwards and right into Future Tenderheart's face, "If you said you're willing to undergo a medical exam and tests to prove who you are them come with me right now and we'll get this all sorted out."

Future Tenderheart nodded, "I will, once I hand out everyone's messages from the future?" He pulled a datapad out of the box and handed it to her, "Starting with you, Take Care. Watch it whenever you have time."

OoOoO

Tenderheart sat with his wife, Love-a-Lot, as they waited for Take Care to finish her tests. Most of the Care Bear Family had dispersed to show the Star Fox Team around the Kingdom of Caring, except for Fox and Fara who also sat in the waiting room along with True Heart and Noble Heart.

Tenderheart was the most nervous, not even having had time to change out of his UN clothing before they arrived at the hospital. He fidgeted in his seat non-stop until Love-a-Lot put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, please, you're making everyone nervous."

"I can't calm down, my future self is in there and he just told us that we could lose everything, or he could be lying and I don't know what to think about all of this." Tenderheart swiped his sweaty brow then leaned back.

"I don't know if we should believe this either, but if he's right and Andross is part of this then we need to take him seriously," Fox folded his arms. "I'd hoped this would be quick and easy but now the fate of this world might be riding on things.

"I know." Fara nodded, "But I believe him, at least I believe he thinks he's telling the truth."

Further conversation was interrupted when Take Care emerged with Future Tenderheart. She immediately gave the answer they were waiting to hear, "Tenderheart, he is you. He is identical to you in every way except that he is five years older and there's unusual activity in his brain, similar to what I've seen from Independent Bear's brain scans."

"May I see?" Fara stood up and walked over to Take Care.

Take Care looked to Future Tenderheart, who nodded, then showed the information to Fara.

Fara took one glance at it then nodded, "These are the patterns you see in awakened psions. Peppy and I have the same readings."

"What's an awakened psion?" Love Heart asked.

"People can only be psions if they are born with the potential for it, but not every psion is the same. I'll skip the big explanation and say that until a psions awakens they will be like everyone else." Fara turned to Tenderheart, "If he really is you from five years in the future, then it's possible you will awaken sometime soon, though how I can't be sure."

"I can," Future Tenderheart spoke up, "When I saw the Earth being torn apart, I heard screams in my head. It overwhelmed me and before I knew you were giving me psionic training," he turned to face Fara.

"I hope I was a good teacher," Fara smiled.

"Wait, how can you tell how old he is? Take Care, I mean… we don't age, unless we want to," Love-a-Lot screwed up her face as she tried to figure it out.

"The cells in our bodies still divide at the same rate as humans once we reach physical adult age, the magic just prevents the wear and tear caused in normal cellular division. I just need to see how many of your cells have been replaced," Take Care said.

"So, you are me from the future," Tenderheart approached his future counterpart with Love-a-Lot right next to him. "What do we do now?"

"Get a meeting together at the Hall of Hearts and I'll explain everything we need to do." Tenderheart turned to Love-a-Lot, then embraced her.

"What the?" Love-a-Lot pushed him off and stepped back, hand on Tenderheart's shoulder.

"Sorry I just…" Future Tenderheart took a deep breath and smiled, "I missed you, so much."

"I understand. But even if you're a future version of Tenderheart, you're not my Tenderheart," Love-a-Lot said.

"I know, sorry."

"It's fine, I forgive you."

"OK, let's go then." Future Tenderheart was about to leave when Tenderheart spoke up.

"Wait. What do we call you? We can't just call you 'future Tenderheart" all the time."

He paused, "That is a bit of a mouthful, how about Futureheart Bear?"

"That sounds ridiculous," Tenderheart said, "But it'll do."

OoOoO

Futureheart Bear stood at the head of the table in the Hall of Hearts facing everyone, including the members of the Start Fox Team who all sat together near the entrance to the hall.

Futureheart took a deep breath, "I know what I've said is hard to believe, but I'm only asking you to hear me out. Yes, I am from over five years in the future after the Earth was destroyed by No-Heart working with Andross who is here on this planet. I came back when I did because I needed to wait for the Star Fox Team to arrive so I would have some plausibility to my claims. I'm here to stop No-Heart but I'll need all your help to do this."

Love Heart spoke next, "Since I know they're alive I'm going to step up training and keep all caring missions in teams of two, especially with Mental Heart out there."

Futureheart smiled, "I forgot how devoted you were to this."

"That's my dad!" Miracle Heart piped up, which provoked a few chuckles from the assembly.

"There's more." Futureheart continued, "I've already given Slippy all the data on the technology we developed before I came back here. I don't know how much use it will be but any of it that can be built here would be helpful. One more thing, we need to investigate a man named Clifford Quentin."

"I've heard of him," Bright Heart spoke up, "CEO of a company called Quentin Enterprises. Don't know much about what his company does though."

Futureheart nodded, "Not many people do. His company appears to be a technology company but it's a front for criminal activity. Shortly after the Star Fox Team arrived the FBI were able to trace a lead back to him and expose him under the codename Control, a criminal involved in underworld activities only to find him missing without a trace. More importantly, he is No-Heart's brother, Quenos, and Shrieky's father. He is one of the lead scientists of No-Heart's empire in the future and the developer of a powerful weapon called The Prank. I'll explain more later but there's one last thing," Futureheart turned to face Independent Bear, who was sitting six chairs away, "Independent Bear, I need to train you."

"In what?" Indy asked.

"Psionics."

Indy jumped, nearly falling backwards, "What?!"

Futureheart stood up and walked over to him, "Indy, I believe you have psionic potential equal to if not stronger than Andross and Mental Heart." He put a hand on the silver bear's shoulder, "If I train you, you could be the tipping point in this war."

Indy looked up at Futureheart, then across the whole assembly, briefly resting on Take Care, then back up to Futureheart, "OK. I'll try."

OoOoO

A large steel-gray ship with a monkey's face built into the front orbited Earth at a high distance. In the ship's damaged command bridge, Andross sat in the command chair. Andross was a tall brown primate with long white hair and a long white beard clad in a high collared red robe. He glared around at the lizard men and other primates rushing to fix things.

"All this travel and I find a planet so primitive that their only space station wouldn't pass for a scrapyard!" Andross fumed.

"The Great Fox just entered the atmosphere, they must not have seen us," the one lizard at the main controls relaxed.

"Only because I'm using all my power to hide us from them," Andross shouted, rubbing his temples, "As soon as we can warp we need to leave and find a better place to rebuild our forces."

'_**Then maybe you should stay here.'**_

Andros jumped out of his seat and spun around, "Who's there!"

'_**My name is Mental Heart and I represent the only power on this planet worth your time.'**_

Andross chuckled, "I didn't know there were such individuals on this planet. But if you're willing to serve my interest-" Andros suddenly stopped and held his head as pain lanced through him.

'_**Don't presume to give me orders or that you will be in command. My lord only offers this because he wants access to your technology and the support you can give. Or you can continue to assume that you're in charge and I'll just assault your mind until you can't hide from the Star Fox Team anymore.'**_

Andross grimaced but sat back down, "Very well. What shall I do?"

'_**I'm sending you the coordinates of where to land. Once you're there, you'll meet him.'**_

"Fine," Andross grinned, "Perhaps I can turn this to my advantage after all. Helm, enter the atmosphere and go to the following coordinates…"


	3. Letters from the Future

A/N: A lot of the setup for this story comes from an abandoned story by Silver Wolf16 on , used with permission. The Star Fox crossover and the time travel are lifted directly from his story but that story faded out and focused on other things so everything from here on out is my idea.

Chapter 3: Letters from the Future

(Futureheart's message)

"Tenderheart, wait a moment!" Futureheart caught up to Tenderheart as he left the meeting.

Tenderheart turned to face his future self, "Yes?"

"About your letter. I didn't write one because I knew I could speak to you directly." He motioned to the front door, "I don't start Indy's training until later. Want to walk home?"

Tenderheart turned to see Love-a-Lot talking with her friends, then nodded, "Alright."

Futureheart smiled as they walked down the path in Care-a-Lot, "So, any questions before I start?"

"Why the long braid?" Tenderheart pointed to the long braid of hair that hung down Futureheart's back.

Futureheart reached back and touched the braid, "I just forgot to get it cut after a while, then Cheer started taking care of my hair. I kept it long because she liked it so much."

Tenderheart stopped, "Cheer?"

Futureheart turned back to face Tenderheart, "Cheer and I got married in the future" He held up a hand, "Don't worry about the tense, to me it's the past. But after I lost Love-a-Lot and with the earth being destroyed and my psionic powers emerging, Cheer was there to comfort me, and me her after she lost Champ. We fell in love and got married, and it kept me going." Futureheart's gaze had lowered as he spoke now he raised it to Tenderheart, showing him that he was crying. Futureheart wiped his eyes, "But what I want to tell you is this: you should spend time with your wife, and I think you should think about having children. I love Cheer Bear, my Cheer Bear, but you saw that I still miss Love-a-Lot and I know she missed Champ too."

Tenderheart stood there, digesting the information, "Is there anything else?"

Futureheart nodded, "I was…going to be a father. Right before I traveled back here she told me she was pregnant," he smiled, "I was happy, but now…if this works…he'll never be born and…sorry this isn't about me." He drew in a deep shuddering breath.

Tenderheart walked up to him, "Can you show me how to become psionic?"

Futureheart averted his eyes for a moment then turned back, "Fara might be a better for that, she knows more about psionics. I'm training Indy because he's already awakened and I just need to train him to use the power he already has. But…"

"But what?" Tenderheart asked.

"Once you awaken, there's no going back and the people of this planet might not take well to one of their U.N. representatives being psychic," Futureheart said.

Tenderheart looked awkward for a moment, "I remember how hard it was to get them to trust Love Heart. But it could be a great help, especially if I choose to bring it out naturally instead of waiting for something to wake it up. I'll think about it later," he turned back to the Hall of Hearts, "I need to go see Love-a-Lot."

Futureheart watched him go, then sighed and followed after him. He had chosen to live in the Hall of Hearts instead of getting his own house until things moved on.

OoOoO

(Cheer's letter)

Cheer was alone at home, waiting for Champ to return from the gym. She sat down on the couch and saw the datapad with the message from her future self. She stared at it for a moment, then reached out to pick it up and turned it on.

The screen changed to an image of herself, but looking a bit wearier and wearing a Starfox uniform without the flight jacket.

"Hello, me, I know this is weird but hopefully Tenderheart explained everything. I'm you, from the future. I don't have much to say really I mean at this point I probably don't really exist anymore, sort of," future Cheer Bear shook her head, "This is so confusing. Uggg enough OK. Look all I want to say is, be happy with Champ and don't let him go on any missions with Love-a-Lot. No he's not going to cheat on you, he would never do that…but he died, on a mission with Love-a-Lot." Future Cheer sighed and teared up as she spoke, "I don't want yo to lose him too, just…cherish your time with him and maybe start a family," she smiled, "I always thought Nimble Bear would be a good name for our cub. I hope you hear this and…show Champ too if you want. Champ, if you're watching this: I love you and I miss you," she touched her belly, "I'll tell Tenderheart later but, I'm pregnant with his child. I know this cub won't be born if things work out but…I know I want to be a mother. You know it too, Cheer."

Cheer had heard the door open as the last half of the message was played and she lowered the datapad to look at Champ, who had just walked in.

"Hi, Cheer. I heard… well…" Champ looked at her.

Cheer stood up, dropped the datapad and walked over to Champ and grabbed him in a tight hug. "I know, just hold me, please."

Champ pulled her close. Cheer looked into his eyes and they kissed.

OoOoO

(Fara's letter)

Fox entered his shared quarters to find Fara lying on their bed and staring at the datapad Futureheart had given her.

"Watching your letter?" Fox asked as he hung up his flight jacket.

"Waiting for you to get back." Fara sat up as Fox sat next to her. "If I have anything to say to myself then you should hear it too."

"I love you, Fara," Fox said.

"I love you too," they kissed as Fara hit play.

They turned to see a slightly older Fara Phoenix-McCloud sitting as a desk and facing the camera, "Hello Fara, and Fox I assume." Future Fara sighed, "I don't have much time to say this but just please try to save this planet. I've made a lot of friends with the Care Bears here on the ship, you know we named this new ship after you, Fox? It was an homage and…Fox just don't die OK, Fara don't let him do anything reckless, please. I don't want to force anything but…I know you love the mercenary life, but someday I want to settle down, take over dad's company and have a family. I know it won't be for a few years, after we deal with Andross but…just think of your futures too. Good luck."

Fara set the datapad aside. "She's right, you know. Dad can't run Phoenix Enterprises forever."

"I know." Fox put an arm around her, "I'm just having a hard time picturing myself as a house husband."

Fara smirked and turned to him, "You? Legendary mercenary leader Fox Phoenix McCloud a house husband?"

Fox chuckled, "You heard what you said, can't have me running around the Lylat system risking my life every day while you drive to an office every morning, and you need someone to look after our kits."

Fara kissed him, "Thank you Fox. I love you."

Fox kissed her back, "Just don't get too mad when I start reminiscing about the glory days."

OoOoO

(Confidence Heart's letter)

Confidence Heart was going through her cooldown stretches in the gym. She watched as Champ left through the front door and finished her stretches then headed for the locker room. She pulled the datapad out of her locker and sat down on a bench. Part of her wanted to share this with Love Heart and Miracle Heart, but first she wanted to see what it was on her own. With everyone running around, being in the gym was the most private place she could be. She listened one last time for anyone else, the started the playback.

Confidence Heart jumped to her feet in shock as she saw the image of her future self. Future Confidence was taller for one thing and dressed in a custom black uniform with yellow stripes that went up to cup her very prominent breasts, not to mention the fact that she was leaner and more muscular, looking very much like one of the Star Fox Team instead of the more 'teddy bear' look that she shared with the rest of the Care Bear Family. And then there was the very cool looking black and yellow mask with opaque lenses over her face.

Her future self smirked, "Hi Confidence Heart. I know what you're thinking and yes: I'm you from the future. As for why I look like this…that's a painful story. When everything was blowing up I…" she took a deep breath, "I saw Love Heart die and I tried to save Mira and I took a blast to the face from Mental Heart and almost lost an eye, and part of my ear," she ducked her head down and pointed to the still missing chunk at the top of her left ear, "But…I fucked up and Mira died anyway." Future Confidence removed her mask and wiped her eyes, showing the scars surrounding her left eye. "Everyone made this nano-healing chamber and put me inside to fix my face, you should have seen it before, it was a gory mess. But there was a side effect and here I am, the hottest Care Bear ever, at least by human standards." She smiled, "I bet Bright and Take Care will make another one of those things for the future. Maybe you should try to convince everyone to go through it so we can stop looking like plush toys." That got a chuckle out of Confidence Heart, despite the rest of the message.

Future Confidence sat back, "As for a message. Just show this to Love Heart and Mira and just treasure the time you have together, and if it doesn't work out then at least you should know you're the most badass pilot on the team, and we even got a transforming ship called the Mechwing. Oh and this," she stood up and turned around, showing off her two tails, "I'm a kitsune now too, don't know if you want to go through that process too but hey, the option's there." She sat back down, "Just be ready and fight like hell!" She pumped a fist, then the message ended.

Confidence Heart just stared at the datapad for a moment then set it back in her locker and headed for the shower. "Hmm, I wouldn't mind having a body like that," she smirked.

OoOoO

(Bright Heart's letter)

Bright Heart set the datapad down on his workbench and hit play. He saw himself, or rather his future self, sitting at a similar desk.

"Greeting, Bright Heart. Let me assuage your doubts and just say that, yes this real and I am from the future. I don't have a lot to say because I loaded all the data on our future tech into this datapad and a sample of nanites in a case on the back. You need to examine them to learn their weakness, something we were never able to do. One more thing: it's not your fault and you need to tell them. Data forthcoming."

"What's not your fault?" Gentle Heart stood in the doorway to Bright Heart's workshop.

Bright Heart turned around, his face hung low. "It is my fault. It's my fault that Andross is here." He looked up at Gentle Heart with pleading eyes, "My old interstellar pen pal was Andross. Because of all my messages to him, he was able to find Earth. It's my fault everything is going to be destroyed." He started to cry.

Gentle Heart walked over to her husband and crouched in front of him. "Bright Heart, look at me. This isn't your fault. You had no way of knowing he was a criminal or that it would lead to this. Even if you blame yourself then don't just sit here and wallow in depression, do something about it." She gave him a kiss, "You're the smartest person in the Kingdom of Caring, if anyone can think up a way to fix this, you can."

Bright Heart managed a weak smile and kissed her back, "Thank you." He turned back to the datapad, "I'll start telling everyone once I download all this information, and back it up."

Gentle Heart gripped his shoulders and smiled, "Don't worry, I'm here to help."

OoOoO

(Slippy's letter)

As soon as Slippy had some time alone in his quarters, he turned on the datapad, seeing an older version of himself sitting with his girlfriend, Amanda. Amanda smiled, "Hey Slippy. Hope things are going well in the past, at least better than they went before."

Future Slippy took over, "Not much to say, other than to make sure you study all the schematics I sent you, even if you can't build it until you get back to Lylat. Also check the sample container on the back and analyze the nanites. Bright Heart can probably help you."

"Make sure you come back to me too," Amanda added, "I can tell you that I miss you while you're gone." Then the message ended.

Slippy blinked, "That was short." He flipped the datapad over and opened a small compartment on the back and removed a case about the size of a AA battery. He plugged it into his personal computer and started up a diagnostic program. "Let's see how these nanites work."

OoOoO

(Defender Bear's letter)

Defender Bear wasn't sure if he wanted to view the letter from his future self. While Wish was out on a caring mission he just stared at the datapad on his coffee table. Noise from his daughter Hope Bear's room let him know that she was listening to her message, so he finally picked it up and switched it on.

The future Defender Bear on the screen looked very world weary as he spoke, barely looking into the camera. "Phoenix, I want to believe this will work and that you will be with your family after all of this is over. No matter what, protect them and don't let No-Heart tear you apart. During the battle, he tore the phoenix's spirit out of me and Wish…sacrificed herself to bring me back from the dead. I have Hope, my daughter, and I love her but I never wanted this kind of life for her. I want her to keep growing up and living in her home with her family. Do whatever you can to keep them safe."

OoOoO

(Hope Bear's letter)

Hope Bear lay on her bed as she watched her letter from her future self. "Hey Hope, I wish I had more to say but I haven't been able to do much on this ship. I run damage control and keep the ship from falling apart, if that's possible anymore. Actually look," future Hope Bear held up a hand and conjured a small flame in it, "I think I inherited some of dad's magic, but I never really tried to bring it out. I don't know if you want to do that but it might help. Just stay safe." Then the message ended.

A sound from the front door signaled Wish Bear's return. Hope Bear slid off her bed and headed for the living room to find her parents embracing. She saw tears on Defender's face and approached. Wish and Defender saw their daughter approach and reached out, pulling her into a group hug. No words were needed.

OoOoO

(The Lombardi family's letter)

Katt had just put her daughter Kalico down for a nap when Falco entered their quarters on the Great Fox. Katt held a finger to her lips to signal silence then motioned for them to step out into the hallway.

"Thank the star for soundproof walls," Falco said.

"Well, let's see what we have to say to us." Katt pressed the play button.

The screen showed an image of an older Falco and Kat with a six-year old Kalico seated between them. Future Kalico looked up at her parents, "Is it on?"

"Yep, go ahead," future Falco pointed to the screen.

Future Kalico grinned and turned to face the camera, "Hi mom! Hi dad! This is me, all grown up from the future."

"Not quite grown up," future Katt ruffled her daughter's headfur.

"Hey!" Kalico batted off her mother's hand, "But yeah, I'm here living on a big ship even with this war going on. My mom and dad are the coolest, that's you, and them," she pointed with both hands to the camera then up to her parents sitting next to her, "Kick Andross' butt for me."

"Yeah, we're pretty much the best," Falco smirked. "But try to make it better OK?

"Whatever it takes," Katt said. The parents' faces became pleading right before the message ended.

Katt lowered the datapad, "They're scared."

"Yeah," Falco nodded, "Can't blame them." He clenched a fist, "Let's make sure she gets to grow up."

Katt kissed him on the cheek, "She will. We'll make sure of that."

OoOoO

(Pace and Hugs' letter)

Hugs' home life had become boring. When Tugs and Connie got married they had moved into their own house which had mad Hugs feel awkward that she still lived with Grams, so she had requested her own house and moved out. But now she lived alone and even with Pace and Get Well having returned both were busy with their new careers and rarely had time to spend with her. Hugs sat in front of her computer lazily looking for a game to play, something she had picked up with all those years alone.

A knock at her front door caused Hugs to look up, "I'm coming," she called.

She found Patient Heart Liger at the door, "Hello."

Hugs smiled, "Hey Pace, come in." She led Pace into her living room, "Just stopping by?"

"Not just that. It's our letter," Pace showed her the datapad.

"Our letter?" Hugs sat down on her couch and Pace joined her.

"Yes. The letter from our future selves, it's for both of us from both of us." Pace found himself blushing, he suspected he knew the reason.

"Alright, let's watch." Hugs put her arm around Pace and pulled him close, which didn't help his nerves at all as the message began.

Future Pace and Future Hugs sat together on their bed with the camera facing them. Both were smiling. Future Hugs waved, "Hi past us. Hope things are going well."

"Things aren't going well for us here, except for one thing," Future Pace cleared his throat.

Future Hugs grabbed Future Pace's hand and showed off their silver wedding bands, "We're married!"

Future Pace carefully pulled his hand away but smiled nonetheless, "Yes, we are." He took a deep breath then looked right into the camera, "Hugs Bear from the past. I've had a crush on you for years, even before I went to university. I never told you because I was afraid it would ruin the friendship we had and just make things awkward at best. I didn't have the courage to say anything until we were on the Great Fox and Earth was already gone. Please don't wait for the apocalypse to talk about this."

Future Hugs pulled Future Pace closer, "And both of you, I know you're going to make a great couple so don't beat around the bush. I know you won't dive in but I think you've been friends long enough, so go for it." She gave a thumbs up then she and Future Pace kissed right as the message ended.

Both of them sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Hugs finally spoke.

"He's telling the truth, right?"

Pace was still blushing but he nodded, "Yes, he's right. I do have a crush on you, I've had one for years. I don't want to be redundant, everything he said was true."

Hugs stared at the floor for the moment, "Honestly, I thought you and Get Well would have hooked up in college, since you've been sleeping in the same room for ten years."

Pace shook his head, "No, we're just friends. Get Well's smart and focused but you," he blushed harder, "You're kind, affectionate and always able to make me smile. I just love being around you whenever I can."

"Aww," Hugs leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "you're sweet."

"So where do we go from here?" Pace turned to look at her, face still red.

"We try to be a couple. I mean we're not fighters but this is a chance to have a relationship before the world blows up," Hugs giggled, "I don't know if I can feel the same way but let's give it a try. If it worked for them I'm sure it can work out for us."

Pace smiled, "Thank you."

Hugs stood up, "As long as you're here, want to have dinner with me."

Pace nodded, "Yes, please."

OoOoO

(Contrary Heart's letter)

Connie sat at her kitchen table, waiting for Tugs and Marina to come home. She stared at the datapad, torn between watching it before her family got home and sharing it first with them. She was just about to hit play when Tugs and Marina came through the front door.

Connie stood up and caught Marina in a hug, "How was school?"

"Boring," Marina stuck out her tongue, "What's that?" she pointed to the datapad on the kitchen table.

"A letter from me from the future," Connie released her daughter and stood up.

"Well let's watch it." Tugs picked up the datapad and motioned to the living room.

Moments later, Marina was sitting between her parents as they held the datapad between them and pressed play.

Future Contrary Heart Liger sat in front of the camera stone faced and took a deep breath, "This is all crazy and I don't even know if this is going to work, but if this does it's gotta be better than what's happened so far. Well I'm a fighter pilot and as much fun as it is, when I have time to myself I can't stand it. Flying out there facing death every day and coming home to an empty room with no one in it. I want to be back there in the Kingdom of Caring with Tugs and Marina and," future Connie was starting to break down, "I want this to work so I never have to be stuck out here and I wish I could hold Tugs and Marina in my arms again. Just promise me you won't let them die this time!" She was pleading to the camera. Future Connie sat in silence for a moment and then the message ended.

Marina looked up at her parents, and saw that Connie was crying and in an instant she was enveloped in a hug between her two parents.

OoOoO

(Peppy's letter)

Peppy sat on the command bridge, datapad in hand and going over ship systems with ROB. He sat back and finally started the letter.

Future Peppy looked world-weary, even more so than his present self as he spoke. "Hi, Peppy. This is odd but here we are, future talking to the past. All I can say is that things are bad here, really bad. Even with our victories we can't win and I know it. This is a long shot but I feel it's the only shot we have. You need to work with everyone and make sure they survive, especially Fox. I know you can do it, and if Tenderheart or Soulful Heart need psionic training then help them with it. You need every edge you can get."

Peppy set the datapad down then checked the ship's systems one more time. "ROB, I'm heading off the ship. Keep everything running in case there's an emergency unless you need to power down."

"AFFIRMATIVE"

OoOoO

(Get Well Bear's letter)

Get Well was at home in the hospital, going over some paperwork. It was tedious in the extreme but Take Care told her it was necessary and she needed practise just in case she had to run the whole hospital by herself. She sighed and took a drink from the travel coffee mug she had with her (to prevent any spills after a catastrophic spill in university nearly cost her a term paper) then leaned back in the chair, hand to her forehead.

"Hard at work, sis?" Cautious Heart leaned over the desk.

"And it's giving me a headache," Get Well sat forwards.

Cautious Heart smirked, "That or all that coffee. Now I'm really happy I decided to start taking missions, and going to care school, instead of following mom's path." She looked at the pile of paperwork, "How much longer."

"Another hour maybe?" Get Well groaned, "But I need to get it finished if I'm ever going to convince mom to let me work here alone."

"Good luck," Cautious Heart looked down at the desk and picked up the datapad, "What about this?"

"That's the letter from my future self," Get Well gently took the datapad from Cautious Heart, "I don't even know how to handle all of this, I mean what did I even say to myself?"

Cautious Heart grabbed a chair and pulled up alongside her sister, "Let's watch it then, you could use a short break."

Get Well smiled, "You're right," then turned on the message.

Future Get Well sat at a desk much like the one they sat at now, only more stylized like the Star Fox's interior. "Hey, me, how are things in the past? I know you just got back from university so you're getting settled in to mom's office and that after what you've seen you're going to be nervous about the days ahead, and you have every right to be," she smiled, "but there's one thing you don't need to worry about. You're going to be a great doctor, Get Well, just don't give up and keep working at it. I know the paperwork is tedious, and trust me even working on datapads doesn't help, but you'll get used to it…mostly. Just keep at it and work hard. Oh and one more thing, help mom to loosen up a bit, especially after she hears her message." Future Get Well leaned forwards and whispered, "She doesn't know that I overheard her recording her letter. You'll know what I mean when you see what she does after that."

Cautious Heart blinked as the message ended then turned to Get Well, "What does she mean?"

Get Well hummed for a moment then shrugged, "I don't know yet, but I believe myself so we'll just have to wait and see."

Cautious Heart stood up, "Have fun, I'm head over to see the unicorn twins again," she smiled.

"Right, fun," Get Well sighed and returned to her paperwork.

OoOoO

(Soulful Heart's letter)

Soulful Heart didn't waste any time once he got his message and made a beeline back to his home to listen. Sitting down in a chair to watch his message.

Future Soulful Heart also sat in a chair, one leg crossed over the other and fingers knitted together. "I never imagined I'd be on a star ship, and if circumstances were different I'd be thrilled about being able to see everything that exists beyond the solar system. But right now things are fucked. We can't win this war and this time travel plan is desperate, but it's our only option at this point. You have to make it work, matter what happens. Things are going to be rough in the days ahead but you need to stop No-Heart, Andross, Quenos and Mental Heart no matter what you have to do, and there is something you need to know. You're psionic, Soulful. Remember when you saw Flash Heart's ghost? This is why only you and Indy could see him. With what little I know I have limited precognition and a sixth sense, I don't know how far I could go if I learned this sooner but now you know. Ask Peppy or Fara for training, they'll help you. I know it doesn't seem like much, but if having some psionic powers can tip the scales even slightly in our favor then you need to take it, or we could lose everything."

OoOoO

Independent Bear stood in the Forest of Feelings with Futureheart Bear, who had the large sword he'd brought back from the future strapped to his back. In between them was a thick log they had procured for a demonstration.

Futureheart drew his sword and held it up for Indy to see. The handle was wound with leather to provide a strong grip with a hilt to guard the hand from the blade. The blade itself was quite thin and over half as long as Indy was tall (about the length of a longsword) with a black core and a silver blade; circuitry ran throughout the black core, connecting six tiny blue gemstones to both the hilt and every edge of the blade.

"This sword was forged specifically to be used by a psion," Futureheart held the blade down, "the gemstones are psychonite, a material that enhances and helps control psionic powers, the core is durabillum and the blade is made of laminate titanium, which spreads any energy it contacts to its outer edge. If you learn to focus your energy though this sword properly then you will be able to strike with a force far greater than your muscles can produce even with psionic aid. Watch." He stepped towards the log and swung at it hard, cutting a small chunk out of it about a quarter of its width.

He saw Indy's nonplussed expression then pulled back, "And now with psionics." A blue glow covered the blade and weaved through the circuitry, lighting up the gemstones and the blade. Futureheart swung again and sliced the log cleanly in half without breaking a sweat. "That is only one level of power you can have. Are you willing to commit to this training, no matter what it costs?"

Indy's face hardened, "I will do whatever I must to protect my family." He felt his arm spasm but kept it still, "No matter the cost."

Futureheart smiled, "Good, now let's get started."

OoOoO

"Plans, I need better plans," Cold Heart was going over a dozen different blueprints and plans on his desk. "I can't fight those fuzzy magi with these pathetic plans!" He shoved the papers off his desk and shouted, "Frostbite! Bring me another box of plans!" He shouted to the rotund man in a winter coat who scurried around trying to grab what he plans he could while Cold Heart tapped his foot impatiently.

"_**Really? You rely on someone like him for your menial tasks. How sad you are."**_

Cold Heart whirled around as the voice reverberated inside his head. "Who's there!? Where are you!?"

"Right behind you." The voice was level and calm but as Cold Heart turned to face Mental Heart even the professor couldn't help but see a coldness behind his eyes that rivaled his own. "My name is Mental Heart."

"What are you doing here?" Cold Heart briefly turned to see Frostbite skid into a wall then back to the visitor.

"I'm here at Lord No-Heart's request to bring you to him." Mental Heart said.

"HA!" Cold Heart glared, "He vanishes for a decade, not even bothering to fight those fuzzy wuzzies and now he wants my help? Forget it!"

"Very well, if you're certain." The whole castle started to shake.

"WAAAAA!" Frostbite stood up and tried to run, only to trip and fall on his face.

"What are you doing?" Cold Heart grabbed his desk to stay upright.

"Simple, I'm collapsing your castle." A large chunk of ice fell from the ceiling to the ground near them.

"Stop it!" Cold Heart stared and shot ice beams from his eyes at Mental Heart, only for them to be deflected off an invisible barrier.

"If you prefer I could kill you right now. We can't have a rogue element running around at this critical moment." A large icicle dropped next to him, shattering on impact. "If you want to live to defeat the Care Bears then join us and it will happen."

"Alright! Alright! Just stop!" Cold Heart felt the castle stabilize. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere secure. Gather up your most important notes and return here. I will take you there." Mental Heart turned to Frostbite, "leave the bumbler here, he has no place in this company."

"Very well. Frostbite!" Cold Heart shouted, "Look after my castle until I return!"

"You got it, boss!" Frostbite said.


	4. Take Care of Yourself

Chapter 4: Take Care of Yourself

Take Care Bear sat on a log in her and Indy's secret reading spot: a clearing in the Forest of Feelings where four trees had fallen into a nearly perfect square. Take Care had her nose in the fourth Harry Potter book. She had left Get Well to do the paperwork again, some might have seen that as cruel but Get Well had to get used to filling out paperwork. Take Care smirked, plus it was nice to get a break from the tedium of paperwork, even she had her limits.

Something else was nagging at Take Care's mind. She bookmarked the page and set the book aside then reached into her tummy symbol and pulled out the datapad that contained her letter from the future. She'd been mulling it over in her mind if she should watch the message after seeing the changes in some of the recipients, especially since Pace and Hugs had started dating; it was all Regal and Stellar could talk about now. Would it be a warning? A message? Reassurance? Take Care sighed, only one way to find out.

She pushed play.

Future Take Care sat her medical desk in the ship's sick bay facing the camera. She looked like she was deep in thought before she finally spoke. "Take Care, this is you from the future. I know this is ridiculous, maybe even crazy, but if this works then there are some important things I need to tell you. First, about Get Well: don't worry about her. I've seen her struggle here every day as we have to treat minor and major injuries, even a few minor disease outbreaks that accidentally snuck through cargo we stole and she had handled them all very well," she smiled, "Get Well is going to be a fantastic doctor, I know you're proud of her already but she's never going to stop making you proud. I just wish Cautious were here to see it…" She rubbed her eyes, "But that's not all. In this future, Bright Heart, Slippy and I have developed a Nanite Healing chamber that can fix all but the most grievous wounds, it might even be able to rebuild lost limbs if it's adjusted right. Talk to them about it and see if you can build one; they should have the blueprints from their own future letters."

Take Care thought the message would be over, but her future self held up a hand, "There's one more thing, something very important to you. It's about Independent Bear."

Future Take Care took a deep breath before she continued, "His death hit me hard. At first I tried to just roll it into the loss of everyone else in my life: Noble Heart, Gentle Heart…Cautious Heart…and I still miss them. But every now and then I find myself thinking about Indy and…I just break down and have to hide in my office for an hour or two until I calm down. The more I think about it the more I realize that Indy was my best friend. I know Gentle Heart is our best friend too and Bright Heart but…there was always this awkward air hanging in the background of my mind. I was, and still am, their big sister and technically I rank just above Tenderheart and Brave Heart in the command structure," she shook her head, "I've been on this ship too long. But with that in mind, they still look up to me and remember me as someone who looked after them when they were cubs, and Noble Heart was the father I never had. Even with Get Well and Cautious I was their mother. I was alone in my position with no one I could really feel 100% comfortable around, until I met Indy.

"I remember the first time we met, he was hurling up black sludge after nearly being suffocated by Dusk Heart. Then he was able to recover from his injuries without my help in the hospital, evacuation notwithstanding. As I got to know him I felt like I could actually be friends on equal footing with someone in my life, for once, because he was already an adult. I didn't need to raise him so he didn't look up to me as a big sister, and with the way the Magi work in our family he wasn't under my authority, except when it came to medicine. When I found out he was a book lover and he found my secret reading spot, it felt right somehow. I never realized, back in your time, how important having a friend like him was for me. Then there was the hypothermia incident and how he helped look after me, and probably saved my life." Future Take Care smiled for a moment, then sighed as her face fell.

"Get Well thinks I was in love with him but I don't know… He's dead. Nothing can change that and there's no point in my dwelling on the potential for anything that can't happen anymore. I have things to do and people to keep alive, or to convince to undergo mental health treatment they desperately need. But when I heard about this time travel idea," she shook her head, "I didn't think it would amount to anything at first, but then I found myself thinking: can I really afford to pass up this chance? I don't know how I feel now, other than desperate, but you…You have the time and the chance to explore this. I'm not saying 'run off to be with him', I'm not letting my life turn into a crappy romance novel," Future Take Care rolled her eyes, "but at least think about it while you can, maybe something will happen maybe it won't, but I can tell you that you will regret it if you don't at least try to think about how you really feel, because I regret it more each day.

"Good bye, and good luck in stopping Armageddon." The image held on Future Take Care for another 30 seconds before the screen finally went black.

Take Care stared at the black screen for a minute then set the datapad down on top of her book. What her future self had said rang true in her mind. What was her relationship with Indy? They were friends, yes, but how deep did that run? The more she thought about it the more she agreed with her future self's assessment, Indy's friendship did feel more important to her because they had met and got to know each other as adults. And then there was the hypothermia incident from two years ago. She hadn't thought about it in months but now it all came rushing back to her, both her own personal recollection and what Indy, Bright Heart and Cautious Heart had told her afterwards…

OoOoO

Epidemics in the Kingdom of Caring were the bane of Take Care's existence, especially when bad weather forced her to make house calls. Take Care had just seen to Gentle Heart more as a precaution than anything. Gentle Heart had been very susceptible to any illness that hit the Kingdom even as a cub so Take Care made it a habit to check on her whenever there was any sort of outbreak, just in case. Fortunately, Gentle Heart had avoided this particular epidemic so Take Care just told her to stay put until it passed.

Take Care trudged through the heavy rain in her bright yellow raincoat and hat with her doctor's bag in hand wrapped in a plastic sheath to keep the rain off. She felt a buzzing in her tummy symbol and sighed before she reached under her raincoat and pulled out her heartphone. A text from Feral Heart was on screen: "ROYAL HEART AND JOYFUL HEART ARE SICK! COME NOW PLEASE!"

Take Care put the heartphone back in her symbol and changed direction. After Royal Heart's premature birth, Feral Heart had been nervous about her son's health; this became even more of a problem when she and Brave Heart decided to have another child. Joyful Heart Liger, thankfully, had been born safely but that didn't stop Feral from constantly worrying, and the girl wasn't even a year old yet. Even so, Take Care had to take this seriously; she knew Feral would never let them out in the rain if they were sick. This would make Take Care's fifteenth house call today, and the rain hadn't let up for a moment.

Take Care shivered as she approached the cave the couple called home, she hadn't had a proper chance to dry off at each stop, not to mention the temperature was dropping and the wind kept blowing the rain into her face and under her coat. Then it started to snow, though Take Care was too focused on getting to the door inside the cave's mouth to notice.

Both Royal Heart Liger and Joyful Heart Liger had the flu, but thankfully it was in the early stages. She gave each of them antibiotics then gave the panicking Feral Heart Tigress some medicine for her cubs and to keep them in bed as long as she could and not to overfeed them or it would all come back up. It all took less than five minutes before Take Care was back outside, still soaked to the skin.

She groaned as soon as she saw the snow that had started to pile up while she was inside. She should have expected this, especially so late in autumn and at night. She looked back over her shoulder at the door inside the mouth of the cave, then forwards, despite the weather she had to get home.

The snow only piled up higher and the wind hadn't abated, Take Care began to trudge once it was up past her ankles, shivering under her raincoat, but she could see her home and hospital straight ahead, just past the edge of the Forest of Feelings. She pushed on and on despite the cold until she had her hand on the doorknob. She pushed it open, almost toppling forwards then forcing the door shut behind her. She would have called out for Cautious Heart, but she had gone for a sleepover at Swift Heart and Grumpy Bear's house, which meant the hospital was empty. She missed the coat rack with her raincoat and hat and stumbled forwards a few steps. Why was she still so cold?

Take Care dropped to her knees then fell forwards as she shivered and her world went black.

OoOoO

Indy was asleep when stray thoughts began to assault his mind. It felt so very cold, and tired, and alone…

His eyes shot open and he jumped out of bed, "Take Care!" He pulled on his longcoat and opened the door to his house, only to be greeted by a snowstorm. It only took him a moment to pull on his winter coat and boots and he was plunging into the snowstorm, doing up a scarf as he walked. For once he wished he didn't live so deep in the Forest of Feelings, but he liked his solitude.

Take Care's door burst open then slammed shut as Indy all but forced his way inside. He didn't even bother to take off his winter clothing when he saw Take Care lying on the floor. He was at her side in an instant as he checked her pulse and breathing, basic first aid training all the Magi had been required to learn. Her body was cold and soaked through the fur right to the skin and her breathing was shallow. Starting to panic, Indy took off his winter coat and lay it over her like a blanket before he fished out his heartphone and dialed Bright Heart's number.

Bright Heart had been about to go to sleep when he heard his phone ringing. He gave an apologetic look to Gentle Heart as he looked and saw Indy's name on the phone. Indy almost never called anyone so it had to be important.

"Hello?"

"Bright Heart! It's Indy, I'm at Take Care's! I found her collapsed right inside the door and she cold and barely breathing! Get over here now I need your help!"

Bright Heart almost dropped his phone in shock then turned and bolted for the door.

Gentle Heart followed him and found him putting on his winter coat and boots at the front door. "Bright Heart, what's wrong?"

"Take Care's hurt, I have to go." Bright Heart finished zipping up his coat.

"I'll come too," Gentle Heart grabbed for her own coat from the closet.

Bright Heart was all too aware of just how susceptible Gentle Heart was to extreme conditions, but he didn't have time to argue. "Alright, just make sure you're bundled up before you follow me." He darted outside while Gentle Heart was still getting dressed.

Indy was fidgeting as he waited for Bright Heart to show up; he nearly jumped out of his skin as Bright Heart stepped in. The raccoon took one look at Take Care and pulled the jacket off her.

"What's wrong with her?" Indy had to hold himself back from helping, not that he knew what to do.

Bright Heart only had to check her for a moment before he gave his diagnosis, "Hypothermia. We need to warm her up before it gets worse."

"OK, so what do we do? Build a fire? Make a hot bath?" Indy did his best to restrain his breathing.

Bright Heart shook his head, "No, we have to warm her up slowly. The blood in her arms and legs has become very cold and if it circulates too quickly back to her heart it will send her into cardiac arrest. We have to dry her off then put her to bed and pack the blankets around her so her body will slowly warm itself up, but it could take days and we have to avoid jostling her or the cold blood could rush back to her heard." Bright Heart was trying to devise a way to do this when Indy held out his hands.

"I can do that." Indy concentrated and then Take Care slowly levitated off the floor. Bright Heart just stared for a moment, then ran off to grab towels from the bathroom.

Bright Heart had just finished drying off Take Care's fur when Gentle Heart entered, quickly shutting the door behind her. "What's happening?"

"She has hypothermia," Bright Heart said as he finished toweling off Take Care's head, "Now take her to her bedroom, slowly."

Indy nodded and levitated Take Care slowly into her bedroom, with Bright Heart rushing ahead to open the door for them. Indy had to carefully rotate Take Care onto her back then put her limbs by her sides before he set her on her bed. Gentle Heart pulled back the covers then she and Bright Heart carefully wrapped her up in the blankets until only her face was exposed.

"How did this happen? She was on her feet an hour ago," Gentle Heart clutched Bright Heart's hand.

"She likely worked herself into an adrenaline rush while she was making house calls, then the snow hit and as soon as she got home and felt safer it ended and she crashed." Bright Heart said, "I'll have to look after the hospital until she's up and around. If she's not awake by tomorrow then I'll have to try warming her intravenously."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Indy left to grab a chair from the kitchen.

"We can sleep on the couch tonight," Gentle Heart pulled Bright Heart into the living room as Indy returned with a chair from the kitchen.

OoOoO

Take Care felt hot and cold at the same time, sweaty yet shivering. She was packed in around by blankets and she opened her eyes to se the familiar ceiling of her bedroom; the smell of coffee assaulted her nostrils.

Indy finished off his latest cup of coffee when he saw that Take Care was awake, "you're finally awake, good."

"What happened?" Take Care tried to raise her arm despite it feeling like a leaden weight only for Indy to put out a hand to hold her arm still.

"You collapsed, hypothermia. Bright Heart's looking after the hospital." Indy sat back down and yawned.

"How long have you been up?" Take Care asked.

"About 14 hours, after I got up in the middle of the night," Indy yawned.

"You need to get shome shleep. Go home." Take Care tried her best to sound authoritative, but it was undermined by her slurred speech.

"Mom!" Cautious Heart Cat suddenly appeared at the door followed by Bright Heart wearing a doctor's coat. "They told me what happened. Are you alright?"

Take Care couldn't help but smile. "I'll be fine, kiddo, jusht worry about yourshelf."

"Open up," Bright Heart lowered a thermometer to Take Care's mouth. She begrudgingly opened and let him take her temperature. "33 Celsius, you're going to be down for a few days. I'll call Get Well and-"

"No!" Take Care's shout made them jump, "don't pull her out, shee needsh to shtudy."

"All right," Bright Heart said, "Just lie there and I'll look after anyone who comes in."

"I'll go make something you can eat then," Cautious Heart stood up then turned to Indy.

Indy's eyes were drooping even after all the coffee he'd ingested so Cautious Heart hauled him up, "You can sleep in my sister's room."

Take Care listened to them leave then stared at the ceiling. With nothing else she could do she eventually drifted off to sleep.

A knock on her bedroom room woke Take Care up. Indy entered carrying a colorful bowl with a spout and handle in his hands, "Hey, I thought you could use something to eat."

"Now that you mention it, I could use something. What is that?" Take Care asked.

"Chicken noodle soup, and I used my tummy symbol to make this bowl to avoid spilling." Indy pulled up the chair he had brought in earlier and sat down, carefully lifting up her head and tilting the spout into Take Care's mouth.

Despite the awkwardness, Take Care was grateful for something to eat. Indy eased off whenever she needed a breath and they kept going until it was all gone.

"Thanks. It was good," Take Care said as Indy lowered her head back onto the pillow.

Indy chuckled, "It was just instant soup mix I found in the cupboard. Feeling better?"

"Still cold, and tired." Take Care sighed, "I hate being forced to lie here. At least when I had the flu I could get up on my own."

Cautious Heart appeared at the door, "Let me know if you need to use the bathroom, mom."

"I will," Take Care answered.

"I have to clean up. I'll be back later." Indy stood up and left.

Cautious Heart watched as Indy let his spouted bowl disperse over the kitchen sink, dropping the last few traces of soup down the drain. "You don't cook much, do you?"

Indy shook his head, "I just eat at the Hall of Hearts most days. Anger Heart even volunteered to take my cooking shifts after what happened the first time I tried…"

Cautious Heart shuddered. No one would be able to forget what happened that day, especially not after everyeone spent all night cleaning up. "Sounds like you need a few pointers."

"Can you teach me?" Indy asked as he ran some soapy water through the pot and watches it.

"I can teach you the basics, someone else will have to teach you more," Cautious Heart walked over to the fridge and examined the contents.

"Anger Heart or Grams probably," Indy said. "so what first?"

"Spaghetti," Cautious Heart grabbed a box of pasta from a cupboard.

OoOoO

Take Care had Cautious Heart help her to the bathroom and back. She felt better but wasn't tired enough to sleep again. Indy entered shortly thereafter with a mug of hot liquid and a thermometer.

"Here," Indy offered the thermometer to Take Care, who accepted. "35 degrees Celcius, still at the hypothermia level."

"Great," Take Care grumbled after the thermometer was removed, "How much longer do I have to lie here?"

"A few more days," Indy said, "Bright Heart told me enough to look after you. Here," he offered the mug, "Hot apple cider."

Take Care managed to push herself up enough to accept the mug though she couldn't risk handling it herself. She sipped it slowly, so as not to burn her tongue. She lay back down once the mug was empty, "So back to the lie down then." She sighed.

Indy picked up Take Care's heartphone from where she had put it on the dresser earlier. Take Care didn't notice until he found a piece of music and pushed play. "I'll be back shortly."

"Mirrors" by the Hunter Brothers

(slash)watch?v=mkRWEJW5RJQ

_Aren't you something to admire, 'cause your shine is something like a mirror_

_And I can't help but notice, you reflect in this heat of min_

_If you ever feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find_

_Just know that I'm always parallel on the other side_

_'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul_

_I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go_

_Just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through_

_You just gonna be strong_

_'Cause I don't wanna lose you now_

_I'm looking right at the other half of me_

_The vacancy that sat in my heart_

_Is a space that now you hold_

_Show me how to fight for now_

_And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy_

_Coming back into you once I figured it out_

_You were right here all along_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me_

_I couldn't get any bigger_

_With anyone else beside of me_

_And now it's clear as this promise_

_That we're making two reflections into one_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me_

_Aren't you something, an original, 'cause it doesn't seem merely assembled_

_And I can't help but stare 'cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes_

_I can't ever change without you, you reflect me, I love that about you_

_And if I could, I would look at us all the time_

_'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul_

_I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go_

_Just put your hand on the past, I'm here trying to pull you through_

_You just gotta be strong_

_'Cause I don't wanna lose you now_

_I'm looking right at the other half of me_

_The vacancy that sat in my heat_

_Is a space that now you hold_

_Show me how to fight for now_

_And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy_

_Coming back into you once I figured it out_

_You were right here all along_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me_

_I couldn't get any bigger_

_With anyone else beside of me_

_And now it's clear as this promise_

_That we're making two reflections into one_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me_

_Yesterday is history_

_Tomorrow's a mystery_

_I can see you looking back at me_

_Keep your eyes on me_

_Baby, keep your eyes on me_

_'Cause I don't wanna lose you now_

_I'm looking right at the other half of me_

_The vacancy that sat in my heart_

_Is a space that now you hold_

_Show me how to fight for now_

_And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy_

_Coming back into you once I figured it out_

_You were right here all along_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me_

_I couldn't get any bigger_

_With anyone else beside of me_

_And now it's clear as this promise_

_That we're making two reflections into one_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me_

_It's like you're my mirror_

_My mirror staring back at me_

"Still a country fan." The voice came from Noble Heart as he entered with Gentle Heart. "How are you feeling, Take Care."

"Lousy and cold, but better than yesterday." Take Care managed a weak smile.

"At least you're better," Gentle Heart leaned over the bed, "I was worried sick about you."

"Better than being actually sick." Take Care said.

"You didn't have to check up on my yesterday if you were that cold," Gentle Heart took a seat at the foot on Take Care's bed.

"I couldn't help it, I worry about you whenever something's going around," Take Care said.

Gentle Heart smiled, "Thank you."

"Are you holding up alright?" Noble Heart asked.

"Other than the boredom," Take Care sighed, "At least Indy's keeping me company. Bright Heart hasn't been too busy, has he?"

Noble Heart shook his head, "Your rounds the other day mostly cleared up everyone's problems, Bright Heart just had to refill a couple prescriptions and that's it really."

"At least nothing else is going wrong," Take Care sighed in relief.

OoOoO

Indy was browsing through Take Care's library in her living room when Cautious Heart entered. "Looking for something to read?"

Indy didn't even turn to look at her, "Something to read to Take Care. She's bored just lying around in there." He traced his hands over the Harry Potter books, "Maybe one of these…"

"I don't think she's going be down for that long," Cautious Heart looked at the other end of the bookshelf and pulled out worn out book, "Try this."

"Charlotte's Web?" Indy looked up at Cautious Heart.

Cautious Heart grinned, "It's only the greatest story ever. Mom read it to me and Get Well all the time when we were cubs, and apparently Noble Heart read it to her when she was a teenager… or did she just start reading it then?" Curious Heart's eyes crossed for a moment.

Indy smiled and stood up, "Thanks."

Noble Heart and Gentle Heart exited the room right as Indy approached. They exchanged quick greetings before Indy went to sit next to Take Care's bed. "Enjoy their visit?"

"As much as I could, wrapped up in blankets. What's that?" Take Care turned to see the book in Indy's hand.

"Charlotte's Web. Cautious Heart said it's your favorite story." Indy opened to the first page.

Take Care smiled and managed to settle down into the blankets a little more comfortably as Indy began to read.

OoOoO

Two days later Indy finished the story and checked Take Care's temperature again. 37 Celsius and a more thorough examination showed that the cold blood in her limbs had warmed up enough for her to take a shower, that she was desperate for.

Take Care emerged from the shower feeling refreshed and much better than she had in days. Once she shoved her bedsheet and blankets into the washing machine she caught the smell of food from the kitchen.

She found Cautious Heart, Gentle Heart, Bright Heart, Noble Heart and Independent Bear in the kitchen, crowded around the dining table, where spaghetti, meatballs, tomato sauce and garlic bread were spread out.

"Feeling better?" Indy asked.

"Yes, very much." Take Care took the last seat, "Did you cook this?"

"I did the spaghetti, Cautious did the rest," Indy said.

"We just thought you could use a meal without needing to cook, mom," Cautious said.

"Thank you, everyone." Take Care scooped some spaghetti onto her plate and grabbed a slice of bread.

"So I assume you're going right back to work," Bright Heart said.

Take Care nodded then swallowed, "As soon as I finish dinner."

"And get some sleep," Gentle Heart took a smaller helping for herself, "You should at least sleep tonight before you go back to work." The others at the table all added their agreement.

Take Care shook her head, "I can't, not with the flu going around. I still need to be up and ready if anyone makes a call."

Indy swallowed his own mouthful of spaghetti, "Everyone's better or getting there and you need rest. Please, just take the rest of the day off."

Take Care looked from Indy then back to Gentle Heart, who both gave her a pleading look. "Alright fine," she relented, "But just until tomorrow."

"Only if you're feeling up to it," Noble Heart said. Take Care just rolled her eyes and dug in to dinner.

OoOoO

Take Care smiled at the memories. That was the first time she remembered Indy going out of his way to help her. They had become much closer since then…

Her thoughts were interrupted the crunch on the forest floor of someone approaching. Indy walked into the clearing and stopped when he saw Take Care sitting on the log. She stashed her datapad in her tummy symbol, "Indy? I thought you were training with Futureheart."

"I was, but I had to get away I just, Ennngggghhh!" Indy grabbed his right arm as it spasmed and his hand clenched and his arm shook.

"Indy!" Take Care jumped up to examine his arm as it finally calmed down, "What was that?"

"Spasms, I've been getting them for years," Indy winced as Take Care forced him to sit down.

"Years?" Take Care was genuinely shocked, "Why didn't you say anything? Wait…did you run away from your training?"

"I didn't want anyone to worry, and yeah I had to run away." Indy said.

Take Care sat down next to him, "Indy, what's going on?"

Indy looked away for a moment, trying to avoid saying something. Then he looked back into her eyes and felt his resistance melt away. He couldn't lie to her.

"It started shortly after I joined the Care Bear Family. At first it only happened every couple of months but by the time we defeated Dusk Heart it was happening once a month. I didn't think much of it at first but it started getting more frequent, it was once a week before Starfox arrived and now… after my first training session yesterday it started happening every couple of hours."

"Do you know why this is happening?" Take Care asked.

"It's my psionic abilities." Now that the spasm had passed, Indy leaned backwards with his arms supporting himself, "Ever since I accidentally almost killed Love Heart I've been suppressing my abilities, but they've kept growing. I've managed to keep it under control but I can feel the vast pool of psionic energy crashing against the dam I have holding it back." Indy leaned forwards.

Take Care was doing her best to follow what he said, his dam metaphor allowed her to visualize the energy as a lake that was on the verge of overflowing a massive dam that held it back. "You should have told someone sooner; this could be serious. Aren't Futureheart's lessons helping?"

Indy hugged himself and shook his head, "No! He's making me unleash my abilities, forming cracks in the dam that get wider every time I tap into them, making it more likely I the dam will burst out of my control." Indy suddenly seized up and clenched his sides until it passed. "I can't do this. What if I hurt someone, or destroy the Kingdom of Caring?"

Take Care took a deep breath then spoke with a harsher tone to her voice, "Indy, you can't just give up on this. I can understand your fear but if you give up this is going to get worse and you won't be able to help fight when the time comes. I don't pretend to understand how your abilities work, other than it's controlled by your mind, but if you give up then things will only get worse." She knew she was getting through to him when Indy turned to face her, "Think of it this way: if he helps you put some holes in that dam of yours then maybe you can release the energy without hurting anyone. I know you can do it."

"Maybe…" Indy looked back at her. Part of him wanted to tell her how he felt, and he opened his mouth, then stopped and smiled. "OK. I'll try just…stay away from me until I think I have a handle on it. I don't want to hurt anyone by mistake." Indy stood up.

"I know you won't." Take Care smiled as Indy walked away. She didn't see Indy blushing but he did feel a small surge of confidence from her.

Take Care felt unusually hot and her heart was hammering faster than it should have. How did she feel about him? She picked up her book and re-opened it. She would have to think about that later, just not right now…


	5. Evil Gathers

Chapter 5: Evil Gathers

Clifford Quentin, a middle aged man with grey hair in a business suit, sat at the desk in his office at the top of his headquarters. He groused over the reports coming in on his monitor. "The FBI are getting harder to placate, too many investigations and almost no time to cover it up," he switched on the intercom next to his computer, "Dr. Fright, how is the research progressing."

"Slow but steady. We're still having trouble with the cooling systems but once we solve that problem everything will be ready."

Clifford growled but replied, "You'd better not fail me. Or I will do worse to you than my brother every did."

"Sounds like you're in far over your head."

"I'm not in over my head, I just need time to…!" his gaze shot up to the man dressed in black who stood at the entrance to his office. "Who are you?! How did you get in here?! What happened to my security?!"

Mental Heart smirked, "My name is Mental Heart, Control, criminal underworld mastermind," Mental Heart pulled a business card out of his longcoat, "I should be surprised that you give these cards to your associates but I've come to understand that pride and vanity are your family's faults. As for your guards, they're indisposed."

Clifford, or Control, was out from behind his desk and ran past Mental Heart and out of his office doors. He found his two guards, wearing bullet-proof vests, helmets with face obscuring bulletproof glass covers, and carrying assault rifles, just standing still, as though nothing had happened.

He grabbed one by the shoulder and shook him, "What were you thinking! Letting him-" he didn't get any farther as the guard toppled over. He stared then cast a spell to check the guard's life signs, "Dead?"

"They saw through my obfuscation," Mental Heart pushed the other guard over, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that No-Heart's brother has adapted magic into technology like this, Quenos."

The man rounded on Mental Heart, "He sent you!"

"He did,=." Mental Heart re-entered the main office, "We know you're having trouble keeping the FBI off your back; it seems that one of the children the Care Bears helped back in the 80s grew up to lead the department and is incorruptible, and crafty." He turned to Quenos, who had just re-entered his office, "I think it's time you gave up these childish pursuits and joined us, both of you. I know you have Dr. Fright here and about your research." He smirked, "You've been having trouble with the cooling systems for your project. We just so happen to have recruited Professor Cold Heart. If anyone can solve your cooling problem, it's him."

Quenos was about to respond but paused upon hearing Mental Heart's last line. After a moment's contemplation he went to his desk and turned on the intercom, "Dr. Fright, gather up all of our research and meet me in my office." He didn't even listen to the reply as he turned to Mental Heart, "I hope you don't expect me to bring my entire office with me."

"Oh don't worry," Mental Heart gave a sinister grin, "We have something far more impressive than your laboratory where we're going." A moment later a bookcase opened nearby and Dr. Fright stepped out from inside a secret elevator, a pair of portable hard drives in one arm and a single button remote in the other. He started at the appearance of Mental Heart until Quenos spoke.

"It's time we left for a new place. Come doctor, things are going to change." Quenos and Dr. Fright followed Mental Heart out of his office.

OoOoO

"There you are." It was the early evening as Noble Heart walked up alongside True Heart where she stood atop a small hill near their home that overlooked the Kingdom of Caring, "What are you doing up here?"

True Heart fiddled with the radiant heart crystal where it hung around her neck. "Looking at our home and everything around us. It's so beautiful, and fragile…" She felt her eyes tear up and wiped away the moisture as it gathered.

Noble Heart put his arms around her from behind, "I know, and I'm worried to0, especially after what Futureheart told us. But I know we can win this, no matter what." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

True Heart just nodded and continued to stare for a moment. Then the turned around inside Noble Heart's arms, "Noble Heart, let's have another child."

Noble Heart blinked, "Really?"

True Heart carefully took his arms from her around her and clasped them, "Yes! I know it's probably empty nest syndrome but I want to have another child, and raise them ourselves. We never got to raise Hugs and Tugs and they don't need us to lead anyone anymore. I want to be a real mother, like Life Heart, Contrary Heart and mom are."

She didn't need to plead, Noble Heart kissed her, "All you had to do was ask, I've been feeling the same way for a while now."

"Oh Noble," True Heart let go of his hands and traced a finger down his chest, "You could have asked. Thank you," She kissed him again.

Noble Heart drew her in for a hug, "So want to get started on that now?"

True Heart giggled, "Oh my, eager are we?"

"It was your idea," he kissed her again.

"I know. Yes," she kissed him back, then Noble Heart pulled her into a tight hug, a bit too forcefully and they lost their footing, fell to the ground and rolled down the hill towards their house still locked together in an embrace. They came to a stop at the foot of the hill with True Heart leaning over top of him, the crystal dangling over him from her neck and glowing softly.

"I love you, Noble Heart," she leaned down and kissed him forcefully. Noble Heart pulled her closer and deeper into their embrace.

OoOoO

Like his name in the criminal underworld, Quenos liked to be in control of his situations. It was very disquieting and nerve-wracking for him to be zipping along under Mental Heart's powers with no knowledge of where he was going and the speed of their flight blurring the landscape too much to see outside their transport bubble. Dr. Fright for his part was at least calmer, then again it was hard to tell as the vampiric-looking man looked to be constantly on the verge of sadistic glee when his life wasn't threatened.

Everything went dark as they sped into a mountain and seemed to pass right through the solid rock, though Quenos swore he could hear the sound of the rocks sliding open and closed as they did so.

"Welcome to your new home." Mental Heart said as the bubble came down. They were in a massive cavern with two prominent features: A large section covered in ice with laboratory equipment scattered around, and a massive space vehicle taking up almost half the cavern on the opposing side, with a front in the crude blocky shape of a monkey's face.

Quenos couldn't help but stare at Andross' starship, "Where did that come from?"

"Why it belongs to me." The monkey emperor strode across, wearing long robes that obscured everything except his arms and feet, "I was wondering when our newest ally would arrive. Ahh!" He turned to Dr. Fright, "And you've brought another psionic with you, I'm surprised this planet can even produce psions."

"I am no psionic, I am Doctor Fright, Master of Fear!" he protested.

"It would explain how you rig a one button controller to all the functions of your lab, you merely think about it then press the button," Quenos looked down to the little man, then back up to Mental Heart who was striding over to a blank wall in the cavern, then over to the icy part of the cavern where he only just now noticed Professor Cold Heart hard at work."

Quenos' attention was diverted to Andross again as he spoke, "I believe you are working on a project that could turn the tide to our favor, I hope to learn more about it."

Quenos stiffened up, "I will reveal only what I need to. For now, I need to see where my older brother is keeping himself."

"Then you won't have to wait any longer." The voice came from Mental Heart as he stood in front of the huge blank cavern wall. He held up his hands as the wall parted open, slowly grinding to the sides to reveal the room beyond. Mental Heart dropped to one knee with his head bowed and proclaimed: "Greetings, Lord No-Heart, I have brought the last members of our soon to be empire."

No-Heart sat on a throne of grey crystal with lines of magical energy connecting him to it like surgical tubes. The wizard's robes were worn out and frayed and his body looked frail but his eyes burned red with the same ferocity always had from within the darkness of his hood.

There was silence at first, until Quenos let out a contemptable laugh, "So this is what my elder brother has been reduced to. Sitting on a throne clinging to life with a slave to bring you more allies." He held up a hand, "It would be child's play for me to grak!" he suddenly felt a pressure in his throat and started to suffocate.

Mental Heart didn't have to turn around but sent the message right into their minds as he stood up. _**'If any of you think to harm Lord No-Heart then I will end your life in an instant.'**_

No-Heart watched his younger brother suffering and spoke with a strong voice that belied his frail state, "Mental Heart is not my slave, he is my willing servant and by far the most competent one I have ever seen serving any of us. He came to me at my lowest point brought me to this new home where I might recover and adapt to my strength." He exerted great force to stand up as a dark cloud surrounded him and pointed one bony green finger at Quenos, "I struggle daily to control the shadow dragon's power within me and I have no doubt that I will win! While you sat and played childish games with the underworld of human society I have tasted power like you can not believe, and this throne of uncaring crystal will ensure that I harness it to my own will. I believe he's learned his lesson, Mental Heart."

"Of course." And Quenos was suddenly able to breathe again.

No-Heart sat back down on his crystal throne, "It has come time to rid ourselves of those nuisances called the Care Bear Family and their new allies, the Star Fox Team. But we cannot go about this without sense or preparation. Mental Heart will be my eyes and ears and my hands as well until I can take final action but until then we need to cause as much misery for our enemies as we can before they find and move against us."

Andross and Cold Heart watched as Dr. Fright and Quenos plugged in the hard drives and transferred the data to Cold Heart's computers.

"So what is it you've been working on?" Andross asked.

Quenos gave an smug grin, "Nanomachines."

OoOoO

True Heart burst through the front door of their home with a huge grin on her face and her fur disheveled. She plopped down on the couch as Noble Heart walked in, his mane a complete mess.

"I feel so alive!" True Heart stretched her arms upwards then rested them on the back of the couch and grinned towards her husband.

Noble Heart chuckled and sat down next to True Heart, "Where do you get that energy?"

"From you," True Heart gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then the crystal started to glow again.

Both looked down at where it hung on the end of True Heart's necklace and Noble Heart touched it. The glow stopped but the once faded crystal looked slightly more vibrant than it had.

"I thought the power had gone away years ago," Noble Heart said.

True Heart giggled, "It must be reacting to our love," She snuggled up close to Noble Heart. "I feel ten years younger after that."

"So do I, come to think of it," Noble Heart leaned his head sideways so it rested on top of True Heart's, "Take Care said we're literally as old as we feel."

True Heart giggled again, "Well I definitely feel it." She rolled over until she was on top of Noble Heart, hands to either side of his shoulders pressing into the couch cushions, "How about you."

Noble Heart smiled and wrapped his hands around her, gently pulling her in close, "I feel it too." He gave her a deep kiss.

OoOoO

Andross was looking over the schematics for the nanomachines on one of the computers at Cold Heart's lab. "This is a fascinating technology and the applications are staggering. So what is the problem?" he turned to Quenos.

"Heat. The constant movement of so many tiny limbs generates a massive amount of heat that would melt them down into a pile of slag from the movement in mere moments." Quenos said. "Unfortunately the cooling technology needed to keep them from overheating would require them to be confined to a single location, limiting their usefulness."

"And that's where I come in, being the expert on cooling systems. It will take time to miniaturize them," Cold Heart was already working on blueprints for such a device with Dr. Fright assisting him."

"With the machines on my ship we could produce them much more quickly, or even use them to accelerate the manufacture of other materials." Andross grinned.

Mental Heart kept his distance and watched the four scientists at work.

'_**they're working far better together than I expected.' **_Mental Heart spoke to No-Heart telepathically.

'_Of course.' _No-Heart watched them with anticipation, _'though I trust them only as far as their hatred for the Care Bears, and Star Fox, endures. Hate is a powerful unifier that will bring us victory.'_

'_**Nevertheless, I will keep my mind's eye on them.'**_

OoOoO

Noble Heart and True Heart lay together on the couch, snuggled up in each other's arms, sweaty but not tired. True Heart sighed and lay her head on Noble Heart's chest. "Thank you, Noble Heart."

"Of course," Noble Heart kissed her.

They lay in silence for a minute before True Heart spoke, "Noble Heart, what can we do about this?"

"You mean what Futureheart told us?" Noble Heart turned his face to her.

True Heart nodded, "I mean, shouldn't we be doing more. The five of us started this family over thirty years ago, and I'm so proud of them but…" she ran her hand down Noble Heart's chest, "I feel so helpless here. We're all but retired now and I feel like all I can do is watch as things unravel."

"They can do it, True Heart," Noble Heart kissed her forehead.

"I know they can, and I'm proud of them, but I want to do more than just sit on the sidelines and watch." True Heart pushed herself up and off Noble Heart, only just realizing how dark it was. The window was open and only showed the night sky with no lights on. "I didn't realize it was so late."

Noble Heart sat up and scooped up True Heart in his arms, "Well then, if it's night then off to bed."

True Heart gasped then wrapped her arms around Noble Heart's neck and giggled, "Oh my! I thought I was eager."

Noble Heart kissed her then carried her towards their bedroom, "What can I say, you were right about feeling younger, I even feel stronger."

"You've always been strong, Noble Heart, always," True Heart held on even as he lay her down on their bed. True Heart's grip was too strong and she easily pulled him down on top of him.

"And you said I'm eager," Noble Heart chuckled as he brushed True Heart's disheveled hair aside.

True Heart smiled, "I told you, I want us to have another child." She pulled him into another kiss.

OoOoO

True Heart wasn't the only one feeling the motherly urge in the Kingdom of Caring. Perhaps it was the bad future she had heard of but Cheer was feeling the urge as well. This was evident as she slipped into the shower right as Champ started. They emerged some time later, clean but both giggling and in each other's arms.

"What's gotten into you, Cheer? You were practically depressed yesterday." Champ said.

"Well you did for starters," Cheer smirked, "And honestly I think it's time we had a family, Champ."

"Really? You want to have a kid?" Champ sounded surprised.

"Yeah I mean… we never did in the future so now I think we should." She gave him a kiss, "do you not want to?"

"Yeah, I mean I did but I wasn't sure if you did and it's going to be your responsibility to carry the kid so…" Champ trailed off.

Cheer looked annoyed, "You could have asked, the worse I could have done is say no." She smiled, "but the answer is yes now. Ready for round two?"

Champ grinned and hugged her close, "I'm gonna make this the most romantic day you've ever had."

Cheer giggled, "I accept your challenge, Champion."

OoOoO

Bright Heart had a bad habit of staying up far too late working on new projects, especially when he had a sudden brainstorm he couldn't let go of until he'd at least written down everything he needed to know when he picked it up the next day. This frequency had diminished after he and Gentle Heart were married but now he was pulling an even longer one than usual, working in his lab alongside Grumpy Bear and Slippy, building the nanite healing chamber from the schematics they'd extracted from their future selves' letters. Take Care had been there earlier to verify some of the workings of the machine but now left it entirely up to the three while she went to get some much-needed sleep.

"Bright Heart, are you coming to bed?" Gentle Heart entered the workshop and looked at the nearly complete machine, "It looks good."

Bright Heart smiled, "Thanks, we're nearly done here." He looked up at Grumpy to see him rolling his eyes while Slippy didn't even look up. "But I think I can get away now."

"Oh sure, leave the hard work to us," Grumpy grumbled, "Not like I don't have a wife and kids to get home to."

"Did someone call my name, dad?" Tinker Bear had arrived at the lab's outside door, travel mug of coffee in hand. "Mom was worried about you."

Gentle Heart giggled, "Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks your working late."

"I can take over, I slept till noon today and I studied all the stuff Uncle Bright Heart gave me," Tinker pulled Grumpy to his feet, "Now get home and I'll get it finished."

"She's definitely your daughter, Grumpy," Bright Heart chuckled, "Are you gonna turn in, Slippy?"

Slippy waved a wrench, nearly catching Tinker on the chin, "Nah, I'm used to pulling long nights and Amanda is all the way back in Lylat."

Tinker took a long drink from the travel mug, "Right, well let's get this thing finished."

Grumpy left in a hurry while Bright Heart put an arm around Gentle Heart's waist as they left through the living room.

"Sorry I got so wrapped up in this new project," Bright Heart sounded sheepish.

Gentle Heart giggled, "It's fine and I understand. I'm no scientist but I know all this advanced technology from the future and from another star, it's like all your Christmases have come at once. If I knew as much as you did I would be there right alongside you, and probably missing a few lumps of wool once it gets stained with grease."

Bright Heart gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, I mean if this works then we can perform medical procedures that would be impossible, but we'll still need trained doctors to program it and the power it needs will make it inefficient for anything except regenerative or complete reconstructive surgery like what future Confidence Heart had to get done, or…" Bright Heart paused, "Sorry, you're being really romantic and I'm ruining the mood."

"No," Gentle Heart gave him a kiss on the cheek, "you're not. I love hearing about this, but I would like your attention on me." She carefully guided turned Bright Heart's head to face her, "Let's go to bed then and let my wool keep you warm." Bright Heart kissed her then yawned which made Gentle Heart giggle, then they headed for bed.

OoOoO

Tinker Bear had fallen asleep in one of Bright Heart's work chairs, snoring with the empty travel mug on the floor by her foot. Slippy stayed awake long enough to greet Take Care, Love Heart, Fox McCloud and Futureheart before he slumped off back to the Great Fox for some sleep.

"Should I get Bright Heart?" Love Heart asked.

"No need, I'm awake," Bright Heart looked dishevelled and smelled a bit but he managed to shake Tinker awake.

"Huh, what?" Tinker grumbled as her eyes opened.

"Tink, you're done, you can go home now," Bright Heart whispered.

"OK, thanks Uncle Bright," Tinker slumped off out the door, yawning hugely as she did so.

"She must be tired if she's walking," Futureheart commented then turned to Bright Heart, "So is it finished?"

"Almost. I just need the physiological data from Star Fox and the Care Bear Family and it should be good to go." Bright Heart was at the control panel typing in the startup sequence, then turned to face the group.

"Here, you go," Fox handed Bright Heart something akin to a USB drive with a round port to Bright Heart, which he plugged into the port on the console.

Take Care set a small portable hard drive on the nearby workbench, "This isn't going to replace me, I hope."

Bright Heart shook his head, "No, it's too power intensive and it can't work without being programmed by a skilled doctor. It's mostly useful for regenerative healing processes, supposedly we can reconstruct limbs and repair damaged internal and external organs that would otherwise be irreparable," He smiled at Take Care as he plugged in the hard drive, "I promise you'll still have all the work you can get, plus I don't think this will be FDA approved on Earth anytime soon."

"That a relief," Take Care wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not, but decided to let it slide.

Futureheart watched the data being transferred into the chamber's memory then put a hand on the still closed lid, "It looks just like the one you built in the future. Will it be ready soon?"

"Just a couple more minutes, why?" Bright Heart turned to Futureheart, who had just removed his Star Fox flight jacket.

"I need to go in there, I want you to program this machine to reconstruct me to look like a Lylatian," Futureheart continued to undress.

"Whoa! Hold it! What are you talking about?" Fox was right up in Futureheart's face.

Futureheart didn't speak until he had undressed. Seeing his tummy symbol made the three Care Bears feel a bit awkward, as he was future Tenderheart and had the same tummy symbol.

"The UN session to talk about the arrival of the Star Fox team is at the end of the week. Now you can get them to believe in aliens but time travel is a bit more farfetched not to mention how odd it's going to be to have two Tenderheart's running around." He carefully edged Bright Heart away from the controls, "If I look more like a Lylatian we can pass me off as another member of Star Fox."

Love Heart folded his arms, "Confidence showed me her letter, I've seen what that chamber can do to you. Are you sure about this?"

"Positive." Futureheart stepped aside to let Bright Heart see his work. He and Take Care talked quietly for a moment before Take Care spoke up.

"This is dangerous, Tenderheart. Are you sure?"

Futureheart nodded, "I am."

Take Care shared a look with Bright Heart, then nodded, "Alright, but I'm checking on you every day until you come out."

A moment later, Futureheart lay in the chamber as it closed over him and the IV and catheter were attached. The darkness around him slowly gave way to sleep.

OoOoO

Even if things were moving forwards, No-Heart couldn't help but find things boring from where he say, all but imprisoned on his throne of uncaring crystals. A chance for some taunting arrived when Quenos broke away from the project.

"Tell me, brother, how is Shrieky?"

Quenos' face turned sour, if that were even possible, "That daughter of mine is too impatient to learn any sense. I tried for years to teach her the guile and skill she would need to join my family business but instead, after you disappeared, she went to live in your castle and play at being the new overlord of uncaring, and she's never been able to even scratch the Care Bears."

"It's a sick joke, even for me. She and Beastly are miserable disappointments," No-Heart cast his gaze on Mental Heart where he stood at his usual guard, "I have a more useful servant now."

"Is there something you require, Lord No-Heart?" Mental Heart turned to face him.

"Yes, I think you should check up on those two failures and see if they can provide anything useful. And see if the thunder pit is still intact. If you can, bring some of its essence to me."

"As you command," Mental Heart bowed, then turned and was gone in an instant.

'_**Don't get any ideas, Quenos, if I sense you are interfering with Lord No-Heart's health, I will return and deal with you in an instant.'**_


	6. First Contact

Chapter 6: First Contact

Marina was sleeping over at Love Heart and Confidence Heart's place with Flair and Mira so Tugs was alone at home. He sat on his and Contrary Heart's bed with the datapad containing his wife's future message in hand, watching one section from his wife's letter that had been hidden behind a file marked: "Don't show to Marina".

"Don't keep hiding your powers from everyone, they could make all the difference. Tell Hope and Chance the same thing."

"Found it too?" Connie asked, having just arrived at the tail end of the message.

"Yeah," Tugs set the datapad aside. "Are we going to tell everyone?"

"Maybe…Just not right now," Connie sat down next to Tugs, "I know it make a huge difference but…I'm just not ready to tell everyone we've been keeping this a secret for years."

Tugs sighed, "I wish I had a secret worth keeping."

"Aww," Connie gave Tugs a kiss on the cheek, "I think it's great, Tugs, don't be so down. Imagine what you could learn."

"Like the history of Grams' cookie trays?" Tugs rolled his eyes but smiled anyway, "Thanks, Connie."

"So keep it under the hat for now?"

"Yeah," Tugs lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, "For now."

Connie lay down next to him, "OK. Don't worry though. I love you."

"I love you too," Tugs rolled over and gave Connie a kiss, "Supper?"

"If you're cooking," Connie snickered.

OoOoO

For most people sleep and the dreams it brought was a refuge from the real world, but for Soulful Heart Fox they were anything but. Waking up was the first relief each day afforded him as he pulled himself out of bed to find breakfast. Soulful Heart had nightmares every night, always horrible and none he wished to discuss with anyone around him. This was no accident or even a psychological problem (though some might disagree) but a leftover "present" from No-Heart, one he couldn't get rid of.

Nightmares were the last thing on Soulful's mind this morning, they were drawn to the message her had received from his future self. He was psionic, or so he had said to himself, but should he seek training for it? If he wasn't aware of what the future had in store it was likely he would have likely just ignored this revelation and went on with his life but now…

He finished his breakfast, dropped his dishes in the dishwasher and left his house. If he could do anything about it then that future wasn't going to occur. Maybe it was impossible but now he would do anything to prevent the deaths of the Care Bear Family, his family. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

"Hey, Soulful, where ya headed?" The voice came from Sweet Heart Pegasus as she trotted up alongside her with three books in her arms.

"The Great Fox. I have some business there," Soulful said.

"OK." Sweet Heart didn't speak for a moment then asked, "So should I just leave my book returns in your mailbox?"

"If you want. I need to get a book return slot," Soulful mused.

"I could ask Anger Heart to install one for you," Sweet Heart offered.

"Thanks. Maybe ask him to come by tonight when I get home." Soulful said.

"OK, I'll see you then, bye!" Sweet Heart took off.

Soulful had grown to appreciate the young winged horse's company. He had initially expected her to be an over-enthusiastic chatterbox who would get into everything whether she was asked to or not; her pink fur didn't help the comparison between her and Cheer Bear with wings and therefore nearly impossible to avoid. It turned out that she was surprisingly sensitive and considerate… well maybe not "surprising" since he didn't know her until she joined them in the Kingdom of Caring. To call her "high energy" would be accurate but she wasn't sugar-rush bouncing off the walls energetic like he feared, at least not anymore as she had buzzed around the Kingdom of Caring trying to learn about everything there in her first few weeks until she knew where everything was.

It was Sweet Heart's desire to learn that drew her to Soulful Heart. Not having grown up with computers she found reading much more engaging than most humans Soulful encountered these days. She wasn't a kid anymore and he had watched her grow up from an excitable teenager into a respectable young woman, one who stopped by his house and library every other day not only to borrow and read books but to chat with him and even ask for recommendations when she couldn't decide what to read.

When Soulful emerged from the Forest of Feelings he was surprised to see Tenderheart Bear walking towards the mercenary team's landed carrier. The brown bear stopped, then teetered on his feet before turning around and almost heading back to his home, until he saw Soulful Heart.

"Hey Soulful," Tenderheart waved.

"Hello." Soulful's reply was curt and he didn't slow his pace.

"What brings you here?" Tenderheart turned to watch Soulful as he walked past him and towards the Great Fox's lowered docking ramp.

Soulful pause a few steps from the end of the ramp. "I'm going to ask Peppy to teach me how to use psionics."

"So was I…" Tenderheart's voice trailed off.

This caught Soulful off guard and he turned to face Tenderheart, who was staring at his feet. "Was?"

"Yeah I mean," Tenderheart took a deep breath, "Futureheart is me, from the future and he's psionic that means I am too. But I'm afraid of what it will do to me if I do, that I'll turn out like him."

"Unless you spend five years trapped on this ship fighting a hopeless war I doubt it," Soulful Heart turned fully to face Tenderheart, "Are you scared?"

"Yes."

Soulful Heart couldn't resist a smirk, "At least you admit it." He looked Tenderheart up and down, seeing the Care Bears' leader as small and weighed down by his own thoughts. "Don't let anyone see you scared or everyone will suffer." He turned back and walked up the docking ramp.

Tenderheart only had to think on Soulful's words for a moment before he stood up straight and marched up alongside Soulful as they entered the docking bay. They had been shown how to use one of the wall-mounted panels to communicate with the rest of the ship and Tenderheart made it there first.

"This is Tenderheart Bear calling Peppy Hare, are you here?"

"This is Peppy. To what I owe the pleasure, Prime-minister." Peppy's voice came through the speaker on the panel.

Tenderheart smirked at the use of his official title but it was Soulful Heart who spoke, "We're here to ask for your help with Psionic training. We were told that you and Fara psionics."

"Yes, we are. Hold on a moment, I'll meet you in the docking bay." The comm shut off.

"That was rather abrupt," Tenderheart turned to Soulful, who just nodded.

A few minutes later, Peppy stepped onto the docking bay and walked over to the two. "Welcome aboard the Great Fox. Tenderheart and…" Peppy paused for a moment.

"Soulful Heart Fox," the fox replied.

"Ahh yes. I assume you're here because of this," he held up his own future-message datapad.

Soulful nodded, "Yes, my future self told me I had psionic potential and that I should train it in case it helps with what's to come."

"And Futureheart is me from the future so I wanted to do the same." Tenderheart said.

Peppy nodded, "Very well. I can sense psionic potential in both of you. We should get started right away. Please come with me to my quarters."

Soulful Heart and Tenderheart hesitated for a moment, then followed the middle-aged hare.

Peppy's quarters weren't as Spartan as they had been expecting, but they were small with a few pictures of who they assumed were family. He turned to face them once the door slid shut behind him. "Now then, I need to know if either of you have experienced any strange phenomena in your life, or should I say any that would be evidence of your psionic abilities awakening."

"I have," Soulful said. Tenderheart turned to look at him as the fox continued, "Over a decade ago after a member of our family named Flash Heart Bear was killed, I saw his ghost at the funeral and I know Independent Bear saw him as well."

"Yes, the other resident psion. I could sense him as soon as I saw him. Anything else?" Peppy asked.

Soulful shook his head, "No. I didn't think much of it after that."

"And you, Prime-minister?" Peppy turned to Tenderheart.

Tenderheart held up a hand, "Just Tenderheart, and no I haven't."

"Alright, so we're starting from the basics then." Peppy looked them up and down, "First thing you need to do is tap into that reservoir of psionic energy that lies inside your minds…"

OoOoO

"Hurry up and finish cleaning furball! I have plans to make!" Shrieky sat on No-Heart's throne and watched the fuzzy brown pig creature running around and trying to get things cleaned up, even though the mess was all Shrieky's doing.

Beastly hadn't changed at all in over a decade, not that anyone would have noticed. Shrieky, on the other hand, had grown up, physically if not mentally. She was not a young woman and wore a purple sorcerer's robe without a hood or sleeves and her purple and green hair still done back in the ponytail. While she kept backups, her original magic mirror was mounted on a long spiraled staff that she kept at her side at all times.

"I need to find a way to stop those Care Bears and prove that I, Empress Shrieky, am the most powerful evil sorceress in the world!" She banged her staff on the floor which echoed throughout the castle.

A crackling noise from nearby caused Shrieky to jump to her feet. "What's going on in my thunder pit!" she shrieked and marched over to the magic laboratory, Beastly right on her heels.

The Thunder Pit was a deep stone well filled with thunderclouds that crackled with constant lightning, a massive pool of magical energy and one of the major sources of No-Heart's magic, one that Shrieky still tried to tap into.

As soon as Shrieky stepped into the laboratory she was someone rise out of the pit and carrying a cloud in his hands that sparked with lightning.

Shrieky didn't hesitate and pointed his mirror-topped staff at him. "YOU! How dare you intrude on the castle of Empress Shrieky!"

Mental Heart just looked up at her without a hint of emotion in his dark eyes. "You're not worth my time, I have what I came for." He turned to leave only for a blast of green energy from Shrieky's staff blasted the ground in front of him.

"Not so fast! You're not going anywhere with my thunder pit! Beastly! Grab him!" Shrieky pointed her staff at Mental Heart.

"Right away, Empress Shrieky!" Beastly scrabbled forwards, then stopped in his tracks.

"Don't stand there, Furball! Get him!" Shrieky shouted.

"He can't move," Mental Heart turned to face Shrieky as he held the piece of the thunder pit in his left hand, "He's not worth my time and neither are you."

"Why you! You!" Shrieky took a deep breath, "AAAAAAAAAAAAA-" right as she was starting one of her namesake shrieks Shrieky's voice caught in her throat as she felt her windpipe compressed. She found herself staring into eyes that were full of a quiet cruelty, as vicious as her uncle's and father's.

When he spoke, his voice was level but she couldn't help but shudder at the cold viciousness in his voice, "Let's make one thing clear, my name is Mental Heart and if I wanted you dead then you already would be. The same with this creature that passes for your familiar, or your servant more likely. You play at being an empress yet all you rule is this abandoned castle full of lore and power you can barely understand. You haven't made a single move against the Care Bears in years and I don't blame you, any of the Magi could outmatch you easily. Stay here and play your silly games, _empress_, while the real powers of this world leave you in the dust." Mental Heart released his hold on the two and Shrieky and Beastly fell to the ground. By the time they looked up, Mental Heart was gone.

Now that the danger was gone, Shrieky's bravado returned as she stood up and scowled. "That's it, Beastly! Get up! It's time we got ready to destroy the Care Bear Family!"

"Yes, b-b-b-boss!"

OoOoO

The first psionics lesson wasn't anything too strenuous, but it was still a third-eye opening experience for Soulful and Tenderheart. The brown bear stumbled out of the landing bay and towards his home. Soulful didn't feel as drained, not physically at least, the training didn't even compare to the torture he'd endured at No-Heart's hands. Regardless he could feel the changes ever so slightly, a new sense he never knew he'd had, like a deaf person suddenly being able to hear. But it would still be days, if not weeks, before anything came of it.

As soon as he was home, Soulful remembered his conversation with Sweet Heart and pulled his heartphone out and texted Sweet Heart and Anger Heart to come over. Ten years ago he'd expected the young fox's volatile temper would prove an imposition but now, he would dare say he called him a friend as they showed a great respect for each other. For the moment, he would just see about getting that book return slow installed.

OoOoO

Futureheart's world was consumed in darkness when he awoke, only the sounds of the nanite healing chamber let him know that he was still awake. No… he could sense someone's presence outside and he sent out a telepathic message, _'are you going to let me out of here now?'_ The muffled replies from outside really made Futureheart wish he could read minds and not just send telepathic messages.

A small crack of light nearly blinded Futureheart as the lid cracked open and when his vision returned he saw Take Care and Bright Heart standing over him.

Bright Heart whistled, "Looks like it worked."

"Hmm?" Futureheart sat up and looked into a large mirror that had been set up for him. His body had been reshaped, he was about 20 centimeters taller and he had what could be described as a more toned body contrasting the teddy bear-like appearance that the rest of the Care Bear Family. His tummy symbol was still there as was his heart shaped nose (and butt-stamp) but he did look much more like a lylatian than a Care Bear now, just like Confidence Heart Kitsune.

"Alright, check-up time," Take Care pulled Futureheart to his feet.

Futureheart stumbled as he tried to adjust to his new weight distribution but nodded, "No, I need to talk to our leaders as soon as I can."

"After your check-up. I need to make sure this chamber left you stable." Futureheart was about to protest when he caught Take Care's look. As tough as she had been, Future Take Care had been worn down enough that he could have ordered her to let it go, but here she was just as vital and strong-willed as ever.

So he relented, "Alright." He picked up his old uniform from the wall, then looked down at himself, "I'm going to need Grams to make me a new uniform."

An hour later, Take Care pronounced Futureheart to be healthy and sent him on his way, where he stopped by Grams to ask her to modify his Star Fox Uniform so he could wear it on his new physique, half an hour later he left her to her sewing and called Fox, Tenderheart, Brave Heart and Love Heart to a meeting. The small leaders' office in the Hall of Hearts proved even with just two more people inside it. Fox and Futureheart were forced to stand as Futureheart spoke.

"The U.N. meeting where you formally introduce the Star Fox Team to the world is in two days, right?"

Tenderheart nodded at his future counterpart, "Yes."

"Good, I'm going there with you and you need to introduce me as a member of Star Fox, Ursus Futur."

This made Brave Heart snicker, "Bear of the future?"

Futureheart sighed, "Alright so I'm not good with names, but I need to keep my cover, now-"

"Hold on," Fox McCloud grabbed Futureheart's shoulder and turned him around, "You might be Star Fox's commander in the future but right here, I'm in command. I'll accept you as part of my crew, designate you as the test pilot for the new prototype Arwing Mk V, but this is my team."

"I agree," Love Heart stood up, "We appreciate your warning, Futureheart, and we'll follow your advice, but this is our world and we will make the decisions about what happens."

"Right, so why don't you go get some sleep upstairs and let us sort things out," Brave Heart stood up and ushered him out the door.

Futureheart turned to look at his past self, but Tenderheart was unmoved, "If you're me you know how I feel about this. Let us handle our lives and we'll take your advice about future events."

"Alright, just be careful," Futureheart said as he was forced out. He stared at the closed door, then sighed and headed up to his room.

There wasn't much else to do as he waited for his uniform to be refitted and for the meeting day to begin. He stared over at the box that had been full of the future messages. Then he saw something. He's missed it before but there was a small compartment in the bottom, underneath where all the other letters had been. Inside he found another datapad with words written on the back 'For Future Tenderheart'. Futureheart was confused and sat down on his bed to watch the message.

A picture of Bright Heart appeared, it looked like it was in the docking bay of the Fox McCloud. He looked left and right before he turned back to the camera. "Tenderheart, if you're seeing this it means the plan was a success. You're in the past and hopefully you're going to change everything. I know it's a lot of responsibility but I know you can do it." He took a deep breath then continued, "There's one thing I forgot to mention. I know you probably guessed this but this trip was one way, the psychonite will be spent by the time you get where you're going but that's not all. Time travel…doesn't work like you think it does, actually it's doesn't really work at all. You haven't gone back in time, you've been taken out of time and time has been…rewound. As soon as you started travelling backwards, everything from the future onwards of when you are now ceased to exist, me, Cheer, everything we accomplished and everything that was lost never happened, I no longer exist and neither does anyone else we fought alongside in this timeline. As for you: the real function of the time drive and the psychonite was to separate you from the timeline so you could change everything without being erased. You're a temporal leftover and I don't know what you're going to do with yourself after this just please, know that you can make a difference! I hope you preserve the letters, they're the only proof that any of us ever existed now."

Futureheart stare at the datapad in shock as the recording finished, then dropped it and buried his face in his hands and wept.

OoOoO

Fox McCloud adjusted the translator pendant around his neck as he stepped out of the Cloud Car along with Prime-Minister Tenderheart, Foreign Minister Brave Heart and Prince General Love Heart in their formal UN uniforms (Tenderheart and Brave Heart in suits and Love Heart in his dress uniform) and the rest of his Team, including the newest member 'Ursus Futur', even Kat with her daughter Kalico asleep in her arms.

Futureheart looked up at the U.N. building, a hundred memories flooding into his mind then he turned to Love Heart, who was standing next to him. "One more thing before we go in: I think there are more lost Care Bears on Earth, we need to see if we can get a provision to relocate them to the Kingdom of Caring for their safety."

"I'll try, but let's take things one step at a time," Love Heart answered.

The tension in the U.N. assembly hall was thick enough to cut with a knife as the Star Fox Team marched up to the central podium along with Love Heart Bear and Brave Heart, neither of whom were used to being in the main hall.

Usually Tenderheart sat in his appointed seat near the back of the hall, being at the main podium was a new experience for him. He cleared his throat before he spoke into the microphone.

"One week ago, we detected the presence of a starship heading towards Earth, containing the first extraterrestrial lifeforms ever contacted by humans, or Care Bears. For the last week we have been talking to them and learning about them. I know what you're thinking: they look like earth animals or even Care Bears, but according to what we've learned they are definitely extraterrestrial. There's a lot to get through but I'd like to turn the floor over to Fox McCloud." Tenderheart stepped aside to let Fox speak.

"OK, first I want to thank the Care Bear Family for giving me this translator pendant so I can talk to you today. My name is Fox McCloud and I lead the Star Fox Team," he gestured behind him, "From what their science minister, Bright Heart, has told me I know you were expecting your first contact to be a more important occasion, but we're not scientists or explorers, we're mercenaries." A few murmurs passed through the assembly before Fox continued, "We didn't expect to find any star systems inhabited by other sentient species and when we return to our home system, Lylat, we'll tell them about this place and hopefully they'll send someone more qualified to conduct diplomacy."

"Does this mean you won't be sharing your advanced technology with us?" A voice came from the assembly.

"We can't leave the actual technology behind, we need it for our mission, but we are willing to share the schematics for most of our technology with the Care Bear Family, and they will share it with you, Slippy," Fox stepped aside as Slippy set a projector on the podium and turned it on, projecting the large image of a monkey in long robed for the entire assembly to see.

"This is Andross, former emperor of his own empire and a war criminal of the Lylat system. He is responsible for: ecological devastation, kidnapping and experimenting on citizens of the Lylat system and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of its people and the destruction of cities and space stations leading to massive devastation. Our mission is to find him and return him to our capital on Corneria for trial, or kill him if he can't be taken alive. His technology is on par with our own except his stealth capabilities are far more advanced due to his mastery of psionics. We want to make this mission on Earth as brief as possible to avoid dragging you into another war so any cooperation in tracking him down would be appreciated. We also believe he is working with an adversary of the Care Bear Family known as No-Heart."


	7. New Family

Chapter 7: New Family

No-Heart watched the work of his so-called allies with casual disinterest. He knew their help would prove invaluable in the coming battle but their presence was a constant thorn in his side. The arrival of one other brought a sense of satisfaction as No-Heart turned to see Mental Heart standing in front of him, a sparking thundercloud in his hands.

"I see you brought a piece of my thunder pit. Good."

Mental Heart approached then knelt down and offered the cloud to No-Heart, "I did as you bid. Resistance was non-existent."

No-Heart reached for the cloud and took it into his hand, "My niece and that worthless servant of mine still live? I don't care," he waved off any incoming answer, "What's important is that they didn't destroy my pit." He held the sparking cloud against his chest, then absorbed it into himself. Sparks of lightning erupted all over No-Heart's body, drawing the attention of everyone in the cavern as the shadowy aura that surrounded him diminished.

Eventually the sparking stopped and No-Heart slumped on his crystal throne, "I feel my power growing, but it's still not enough."

"Then I shall find new sources of power for you, Lord No-Heart," Mental rose from where he stood.

"Not yet. I have a more important task for you." No-Heart looked up at his favored servant, "It has come to my attention that there are more lost Care Bears on Earth. They cannot be allowed to join the Care Bear Family. Find and kill them!"

"At once," Mental Heart bowed, then turned and left.

"And how do you expect him to find them without any sort of guidance?" Quenos spoke from where he was working.

No-Heart glared down at his brother, "Mental Heart has uncanny insight and his psionic abilities eclipse even my sight at the moment and far better than the network of agents you could have employed. He _will_ find them."

OoOoO

"Excited, my love?" Noble Heart asked as True Heart practically skipped out the front door.

True Heart did a little pirouette on the clouds and stopped to face Noble Heart as he caught her in a hug. "Yes!" She gave him a kiss, "I feel so alive today!"

"Me too," though his voice didn't contain the same bombastic excitement, Noble Heart sounded just as enthusiastic as his wife. They kissed again and continued to walk towards Take Care's hospital, hand-in-hand.

"Alright, you can go now," Take Care nodded towards Gentle Heart and Bright Heart.

"Thank you," Gentle Heart was all smiles as she and Bright Heart left.

Take Care sighed, "That makes seven." She looked up as Noble Heart and True Heart entered, after holding the door for the other couple. "Or maybe eight," she whispered.

"Good morning, Take Care," True Heart was grinning as she and Noble Heart approached her waiting room desk. "I'm here for a checkup."

Take Care rolled her eyes, "Alright, let's go." She motioned to the exam room.

It didn't take long, as Take Care had a good idea what to look for and it wasn't even five minutes later when she turned to the couple and gave them to news, "Congratulations, True Heart, you're pregnant."

True Heart and Noble Heart smiled even harder (if that was possible) and gave each other congratulatory hugs. "Yes! I knew it!" True Heart almost shouted.

"That's not all," Take Care said. She saw their faces change to expressions of worry so quickly added, "Nothing bad, but I do have a question. Until you two decided to have another child, how did you feel?"

Noble Heart scratched his chin, "To be honest: run down, tired, and not really sure what to do with ourselves."

True Heart nodded, "Tenderheart, Brave Heart and Love Heart run everything now so we just sit around, offering advice and going on caring missions when needed, but not doing much of anything, wishing we had done more or wondering if we should do something different."

"Classic symptoms of a mid-life crisis," Take Care nodded. "You know the saying, 'you're only as old as you feel'? Well for us it's more literal than a saying. To be blunt: the last time you came in and I did an age test you two tested as humans in their early 50s, but now." She turned a form over to them, "You two are no older than 29."

"We de-aged?" Noble Heart stared in shock at the form.

"For lack of a better term, yes." Take Care turned to the computer and pulled up another file, "The same thing happened to Grams, back when she showed up to thanksgiving riding a motorcycle and wearing a leather jacket. She was trying to feel young again and it worked. She registered at senior citizen age originally but she had somehow become younger after that, albeit just someone in their late 40s or early 50s but dropping from about the age of 70 to that is still a big change."

True Heart's hands went protectively to her tummy, "Is there a chance we could get too young?"

Take Care shook her head, "No. I don't think you could go below the physical age of 25 even if you wanted to. After some tests on the younger generations I've found that until that physical age the most they can do it accelerate, slow or even stop their aging, I mean Hugs and Tugs were barely older than toddlers for about a decade then they shot up with Contrary Heart and Hopeful Heart once they were born, and Marina has slowed down so she won't outgrow Miracle and Flair. I don't think the Magi can do the same thing: they just stop aging altogether when they hit the age of 30. Sage Heart has tested at that age for as long as I've known him and Love Heart and Confidence are about the same too. Can't say about Life Heart though because she's already older than the rest of us put together and I have no frame of reference for a Unicorn's aging." Take Care looked up at the two, "In other words, don't worry about it and just keep feeling young and you'll stay that way. You can go now."

"Thank you," Noble Heart gave Take Care a big hug before he and True Heart departed.

"So does that mean you're gonna keep getting older with all this stress?" Get Well asked as she stepped into the exam room.

Take Care glared at her daughter, then rolled her eyes, "With eight couples having kids all around the same time it will be a miracle if I don't."

Get Well whistled, "Eight couples, yeesh that's eight kids all at once."

Take Care looked at her computer notes again, "Or more. Some of them have a good chance of having twins. I'd say our little baby boom will be around ten to twelve, depending on how that shakes out."

Get Well smacked a hand to her forehead, "OI! That's a lot of kids to worry about all at once. What are we going to do?"

Take Care fished her heartphone out of her tummy symbol, "First I need to give you full midwife training," she dialed Anger Heart's number, "and we need a full maternity ward."

Anger Heart had just finished sawing out the hole in Soulful Heart's wall to make room for the book return slot (Soulful had been informed and was spending the day out of the house) when he felt his heartphone ringing. He shut off the saw and checked the number before he answered. "Hello, Take Care."

"Anger Heart. Can you and Guidance come over later. I need help building an extension on to the hospital." Take Care said.

"OK. Once I finish Soulful's book return slot."

"Thank you, I'll give you the details later. Good bye." Take Care hung up and sighed.

"Why don't we have a full maternity ward?" Get Well asked.

"Because I didn't think we'd be dealing with more than one or maybe two pregnancies at a time, not nearly enough to warrant one." She stood up, "But if I know murphy's law, they could all end up giving birth the same week so we'll need the space. But for now let's just have lunch, I don't want to be in the Hall of Hearts when the girls start going on about this."

"Why so many all at once?" Get Well asked as she and Take Care entered the kitchen.

"What, you mean all the pregnant couples?" Cautious Heart asked, having just come in from the living room. Though she wasn't a doctor, Cautious Heart heard everything that passed through the hospital, thankfully she had enough sense not to talk about anything she heard except with her family.

Take Care took a box of pasta out of the cupboard as Get Well filled a pot with water to boil. "It's because of Futureheart's arrival. Most of these couples were planning to have children at some point in the future but because Care Bears are immortal they just decided they would 'get around to it someday' so they kept delaying even though most of them were well prepared to have children. Then a messenger from the future shows up and says that the world is about to end and they all realize that they might not have any more time, then they all independently decided not to wait any more, even if they know their children might not have a chance to grow up."

OoOoO

Love-a-Lot was grinning as she watched Gentle Heart sit down, followed by True Heart and Noble Heart's arrival. Tenderheart saw her scanning the crowd and had to ask, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh I think I know more happy couples," she stood up, "Just wait hear, darling, I need to see if my senses are correct." She gave Tenderheart a kiss and strode over to the table where Gentle Heart was seated.

Gentle Heart was smiling when she looked up to the grinning Love-a-Lot, "Hello, Love-a-Lot."

"Hello yourself," she looked down at the lamb's full plate, "hungry today?"

Gentle Heart nodded, "Yes."

Love-a-Lot kept grinning, "I can tell. You're positively glowing," she lowered her voice, "since you're eating for two."

Bright Heart's gaze shot up to Love-a-Lot and Gentle Heart covered her mouth for a moment, "What! But who told you?"

"No one, Gentle," Love-a-Lot patted the lamb's shoulder, "But I can just tell. Romance is my business and I've learned to see that motherly glow in women." Her voice had been loud enough that everyone heard her when she looked up and scanned the room, "And you're not the only one," she patted her tummy.

"Really?" Bright Heart looked at Love-a-Lot, "Well, congratulations to you and Tenderheart."

"Not just us," Love-a-Lot gave a sideways look and grin to Bright Heart, "If you all want to come forwards, no reason to hide it."

Tenderheart sighed and stared down at his lunch. He loved her and he had been anticipating this but it was turning lunch into an ordeal.

Cheer Bear was the first to jump from her seat, "I was gonna tell you all later but now's a great time," She pulled Champ next to her with a one-armed hug, "Champ got me pregnant too!"

"You wanted it too," Champ gave her a kiss.

"No point in hiding it anymore," Gentle Heart's voice easily carried through the newly silent cafeteria and she smiled, "Bright Heart and I are expecting a child."

"Me and Noble Heart too!" True Heart practically leapt from her seat, then skipped over to join Love-a-Lot and Gentle Heart, leaving Noble Heart to smile and eat his lunch. Cheer all but dragged Champ over to join them as well.

"Don't forget usssss," Cozy Heart whistled as she and Jolly Heart approached.

"That's roit." Jolly Heart Platypus grinned and put an arm around Cozy, "Moi sheila's expecting a nippah."

"Well an egg," Cozy put her wings over her tummy, "It'ssss different for us."

"It still ours, Cozy," Jolly nuzzled his beak against hers, since they couldn't really kiss.

"Is it alright if I join this celebration?" Proud Heart Cat sat down across from Gentle Heart with a tray of food.

"No way! You too Proud Heart?" Cheer darted to her side, "I bet Loyal Heart's thrilled."

Proud Heart shook her head, "Nope, sorry but he's not the father."

A gasp went through the girls and Love-a-Lot was the first to speak, "But I thought you two were an item. What happened?"

"Nothing 'happened'," Proud Heart shook her head and looked over to the blue dog, "We had a thing for each other when we were growing up and I still love his nobility, but we just didn't click as we got older so we broke it off. He's still a good friend."

"I do have reason to be thrilled though," Loyal Heart stood up. It was only then that they noticed he was sitting with Harmony Bear when she leaned sideways, propping her head up with an arm on the table and grinning.

"Got that right. We kept it on the down low but no point in keeping secrets now." Harmony took Loyal Heart's hand, "Me and Loyal are engaged." She held up his hand so they could see the silver engagement rings on their fingers."

"Oh Harmony!" Love-a-Lot ran over to her and hugged her, even though Harmony was still seated, "I was worried you…" she paused, not wanting to bring down the mood.

"I know," Harmony stood up once Love-a-Lot let go of her. A few tears came to her eyes, "It was hard, but I know Flash would be happier if I wasn't dwelling on him. Loyal reached out to me when I needed help that couldn't be solved with music," she took the dog's hand and they stared lovingly into each other's eyes.

"I couldn't stand to see a friend in such sorrow, so I did my best to comfort her." Loyal Heart smiled, "It was just comfort at first, but as the years went by we spent more and more time together and before I knew it, I was in love."

"We wanted it to just be us for a while, not have everyone jumping all over us to see if I was alright. He proposed to me right after Futureheart showed up and we were gonna keep it a secret, but now," she touched her tummy symbol.

"A seed of our love has been planted and I know it will sprout into a beautiful flower inside you, Harmony my love." Loyal Heart pulled her close as his eyes shone.

"Aww you know I love that sappy stuff," Harmony and Loyal Heart kissed amid cheers of congratulations from everyone.

It was Gentle Heart who changed the subject, "Proud Heart, who's the father?"

"Yeah, you gotta tell us!" Cheer demanded, leaning over the table.

"Easy Cheer," Champ pulled her back, "But yeah, Proud, tell us."

Proud Heart smirked, "A lady isn't allowed to keep her torrid love affair a secret?" she asked faux-innocently.

True Heart sat down next to Proud Heart, "Please, Proud Heart," she took the cat's free left hand, "We know everyone else, we just want to know who your lucky man is."

Proud Heart couldn't help but giggle, "Oh alright. He's probably the only person who could meet my standards of precision and elegance, even though he's hopeless with technology so far. I know his twin sister is just as excited for me and herself too if that phone call to Take Care from Good Luck this morning is any indication."

Bright Heart put it together instantly. "Perfect Panda?"

Proud Heart nodded, "Yes. I admit I've been sneaking off to see him since Good Luck and Polite were married five years ago." She sighed happily, "The first thing that drew me to him was his garden. It was immaculate especially for someone who lives without the wonders of technology I have access to. He's a perfectionist and he never lets a single thing get out of place. I tried to see him once a month, usually on the way home from caring missions, if it wasn't too late at night in the valley."

"And Lucky never said a thing 'bout it," Jolly Heart shook his head.

"I guess I should get the Rainbow Rescue Beam finally completed," Bright Heart sheepishly scratched his head, "I wonder if Slippy has any ideas to fix that."

"Good Luck respected our desire for privacy, something Perfect's been lacking with his new bother-in-law lately." Proud Heart stared up at the ceiling, "At first it was just swapping gardening stories, then I started showing him some books with ideas and plans for gardens from Earth, then he would show me around the valley every time I came to visit. Finally, one night I showed up late but couldn't stand to not see him again, then I told him I loved him and we kissed under the sunset."

A dreamy sigh issued from Cheer and Love-a-Lot, even True Heart couldn't help but get teary-eyed, "It sounds beautiful."

"It was perfect," Proud Heart giggled at her accidental pun, "As for this," she placed a hand over her tummy symbol, "After Futureheart arrived and told us about the end of the world, I immediately ran off down there to tell all three of them. Not the villagers though because that would have caused a panic. I think Perfect was overwhelmed with things, and I was scared too and that's when our relationship because physical."

"So I guess that means you're leaving soon too?" Gentle Heart asked. The mood instantly quieted as the thought of Proud Heart moving away started to sink into the minds of everyone there.

Proud Heart held up a hand, "Just wait until I finish, please. It turns out my message had an effect on his twin sister, aside from breaking their rhyming habit. When I was at Take Care's this morning to find out the good news, Good Luck called and told True Heart that he and Polite are expecting too." Everyone brightened up but Proud Heart continued, "If what we know about Paradise Valley holds up, their little bundle of joy will be able to take Perfect's place once they're born."

"So that means…" Loyal Heart spoke up but Proud Heart cut him off.

"Perfect is moving in with me," she pointed to her chest, "And we are going to get married!"

"Where's your ring?" Cheer asked.

Proud Heart smirked, "I kept it hidden," she reached into her tummy symbol and pulled out a small loop of grass tied in a tight loop with a small piece of crystal as the gem. "It doesn't matter that it's not classy or metal, Perfect made it for me with his own two hands and I'll treasure it always." She slid the ring onto her finger.

The chorus and revelry of the new mothers-to-be echoed throughout the hall, reaching the pride of Regal Heart where they all sat together.

"Sounds like we have a baby boom on our paws," Stellar Heart turned from watching the scene to look at his wife, who looked to be hanging her head. "Regs, what's wrong. Aren't you happy for all of them?"

"Yes," Regal looked up at Stellar, who only just now saw the look of foreboding in his wife's eyes, "but I just know they're all going to be coming to me for advice for the next three months, I don't think I can take it."

"Well you do have the most experience with being pregnant, mom," Faith Heart said between mouthfuls.

Nearby, Swift Heart and Grumpy were eating with their kids Tinker and Trickster nearby.

Trick turned to his parents, "Ever think about having more kids?"

Swift Heart stopped for a moment, "Maybe, but not right now."

"Not anytime soon," Grumpy said, "We just want some time to spend alone."

On the other side of the cafeteria from Regal's pride, Confidence Heart was now poking her lunch with her fork, suddenly having lost her appetite. Love Heart and Miracle Heart noticed but Love Heart wasn't sure what to say. Mira sadly picked probably the worst question she could have asked.

"Mom, are you going to have a new baby too?"

"No." Confidence stood up, leaving her lunch on the table, and left the Hall of Hearts.

Mira watched her mother walking away then looked up at her father, "Dad, did I say something wrong?"

Love Heart sighed, "It's not your fault, but your mother and I can't have any more kids."

"Why not?" Mira forgot about her lunch as she turned fully to face Love Heart.

Love Heart took a deep breath. The answer was hard to give, especially since he didn't quite understand Confidence's condition beyond it's effects, and what little he did understand was rather grotesque even for him. "Because… something's wrong with her belly. You know how babies are made right?" Mira nodded. The Care Bears didn't hold much back when their children asked such questions so Love Heart continued, "When you were born, we found out that something was wrong with the place you were growing in her belly, Take Care had to do some serious surgery to fix her but it means she can't carry a baby anymore."

Mira started to tear up, "Is it my fault?"

Love Heart put a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "No, this was something that was broken about her before we met and it was a miracle that you were even born."

"That's why you named me Miracle Heart?"

Love Heart smiled, "Exactly. But even after that your mom can't carry a baby anymore so you're all we're going to have."

"Oh…" Mira stared at her half-finished lunch then got up and followed Confidence out of the hall.

Confidence Heart had stopped just outside the entrance, tears falling from her eyes as she stared at the ground. Did she really want another child? She stroked a hand across her tummy symbol, the blue ribbon with a hear-shaped button. She hadn't felt anything was wrong for the nine months she was carrying Miracle Heart but hearing what Take Care said had made her feel sad, not necessarily because she couldn't have any more kids but because some part of her had been broken and couldn't be fixed, even magic couldn't fix this because it was something that was wrong with her body from the moment she was born. Maybe she was just jealous because it was something she would never be able to have that they all did now and she just wanted to have another child because it was something she would never be able to do.

"Mom, are you OK?"

Confidence turned to see her daughter, Miracle Heart Kitsune standing next to her, her four tails drooping. She sighed and ruffled her daughter's headfur, that was starting to grow into proper hair like her own, "I don't know. Did dad tell you what's wrong?"

"Yes," Miracle hugged Confidence around the waist, "I wish you could have another baby, I'd like to be a big sister."

Confidence smile and hugged her back, "Thanks, Mira." Maybe her daughter was just like her, only wanting it because she was told she could never have it.

"Can I join in?" Love Heart emerged from the hall's door. Confidence smiled and stretched an arm out for Love Heart to take, which he did, joining his family's group hug.


	8. Shimmering New Life

A/N: I need to thank my friend ShimmeringStar/EternalDragonsTear/Aqua Bear/Lonesomeheart for helping me to write this and letting me use his characters.

Also Trigger Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of Parental abuse towards their children. Please be advised if this is something you have gone through, I'm told the depictions hit a bit close to home.

Chapter 8: Shimmering New Life

An adult woman sat outside only half interested in the food she'd ordered from the outdoor restaurant as she pulled out her smartphone. She swiped up then swore to herself, thankful most of the Brazilians around her couldn't understand her, "Damnit! Always forget about the camera spot, what?" She saw a small minimised picture in the corner and clicked it, a picture of herself, a man the same age and a two-year old boy. "Ugg, missed one of those family photos," She deleted the picture the closed the camera, "Now let's see…"

"Any business news?"

"Nothing yet but," The woman started and her gaze shot up to the man seated across from her. He was dressed in all black, shirt, pants, longcoat and shoes but his hair was purple, almost vivid neon in the light. He drank from a glass of water in front of him. "Who are you?!" She demanded.

The man smiled, it looked pleasant but somehow sent shivers down her spine, "A fellow restaurant patron looking for a seat and a conversation."

"Then look somewhere else, I'm expecting my boyfriend soon!" She looked back down at her smartphone. "I'm sure you can someone else in Rio to talk to."

'_But you are the only one with information that I need.'_

The woman went rigid with fright as she heard the man's voice in her head. She wanted to cry out but found she had lost her voice, she couldn't even feel her legs as she tried to get up.

'_You can't run. I'll make it stop when I have what I need,'_ the man leaned forwards, one arm on the table, _'You're the first lead I have about the son you abandoned, where is he?'_

The woman felt her throat loosen up and she answered, "I don't remember."

'_Let's see if you do, Jezabel.'_ His eyes seemed to pierce into her mind and she found herself dredging up memories she thought she had forgotten, her mind being forced into things she didn't want to remember: meeting her husband, her wedding day, the birth of her son, all sped by in her head as if she were watching a slide show of her past.

'_A name, a place, did you not even try to remember where you used to live?'_ The man's voice echoed in her head. _'the last time you saw him.'_

It was as though she was there again. Jezabel stood in the front room, dressed to walk out the front door, a suitcase of her belongings at her side. "No, Antonio, I don't love you anymore, and he," she pointed at the five-year-old boy standing nearby, "was a mistake I should never have made. I wasted so much of my time on you and on him!" Her voice had risen in intensity as the boy started to cry, "I'm going now and I hope I never see either of you again!" She opened the door, she couldn't remember what her husband had said as she slammed it behind her and walked to the taxi to take her to the airport. She wasn't sure if Antonio had run out after her but she was long gone before he could say anything.

Her vision returned to the present and the man's expression changed to one of disgust as he narrowed his eyes at her, and this time spoke aloud, "You don't care about your own son enough to even remember his name." She felt an invisible hand close on her throat as he continued, "Your memories are almost useless to me but they are enough to start." He stood up and turned his back to her.

Jezabel struggled to breathe and as she watched him walk away she felt her neck twist and she reached up to grab at the invisible hand choking the life out of her. She desperately tried to kick her legs, to try and stand up and walk away as if that would somehow save her. Her vision was blurring, her mind going numb as she tried to shake her body and make her legs work but only succeeded in toppling her chair sideways and falling to the ground, still trying to force some air into her lungs. She stared up at the other people nearby, walking past her as if she wasn't there. She reached out to grab someone's leg but missed as her arm went limp. She tried to give someone a sign, or make some noise to be noticed, but they all ignored her. Her vision clouded and dimmed as the world faded into nothingness.

Mental Heart continued to walk away, passing a young man who instantly noticed Jezabel's distress.

"Jezzy!" He was at her side, shaking her, "Jezzy what's wrong?" Suddenly everyone seemed to notice the woman's dead body lying on the ground.

Mental Heart continued to walk away, obfuscated from everyone around him. "I could have just kept my distance then left," he mused to himself, "But people like her disgust me beyond belief."

OoOoO

Love Heart was having trouble sleeping. He rolled over twice, first to face Confidence Heart then away from her. Finally, he sighed and got out of bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, Love Heart went to stare out the bedroom window. He pushed the window open and leaned on the sill. He stared down at the clouds then up at the clear sky. He stared up at the stars, wondering if the Great Wishing Star was up there somewhere.

"Great Wishing Star, am I doing everything right? I just…" He sighed and stared down at the clouds, "The end of the world is coming and I feel like I'm just sitting on my butt waiting for something to happen. Can you give me some sort of sign?"

A bright light shone down from above, Love Heart looked up in time for the beam of light to touch the eight-pointed star on his forehead causing it to light up. Love Heart stared up at the star from which the light emanated as a voice from overhead spoke to him.

"Love Heart Bear. Come to Big Star Point tomorrow and speak with me. I have a very important task for you."

Love Heart continued to stare until the light beam vanished. He shuddered, yawned then went back to bed. Confidence Heart felt the weight next to her and immediately snuggled up to her husband. Love Heart smiled and snuggled back before he fell asleep.

Confidence Heart shook Love Heart awake the next morning. He smiled up at her, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too," Confidence Heart kissed him, "Slept in a bit late."

"Time to shower then," Love Heart rolled out of bed.

Confidence Heart giggled, "Yep."

A few minutes later, Love Heart and Confidence were washing each other in their bedroom's attached bathroom shower. Confidence Heart turned around and gave Love Heart a hug and kiss, which he reciprocated.

"I love this, just the two of us in the morning," Confidence Heart whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Me too," Love Heart sighed. Then his experience the previous night came back to him. "but not all day."

Confidence Heart sighed, "I know."

Mira exited the free bathroom to the smell of bacon and eggs from the kitchen. Her four tails wagged in glee as she skipped into the kitchen to find her parents, still damp from the shower, just sitting down to breakfast.

"Morning!" Mira hopped up on her chair where the food was already served, along with a huge plate of toast.

"Good morning," Confidence Heart's plate was already half eaten. Love Heart had uncharacteristically eaten his breakfast rather fast and just sat staring at his empty plate as he waited for his wife and daughter to finish.

When he was gathering up the plates, Love Heart finally spoke, "I got a message from the Great Wishing Star last night."

"Wow, really?" Mira leaned forwards.

Love Heart smiled as he stacked the dishes in the dishwasher, "Really."

"I thought I heard something last night," Confidence smirked, "What did he say?"

Love Heart shut the dishwasher door then turned to face the two, leaning back on the counter, "He told me to go to Big Star Point today and that he has an important task for me."

"Ooh Ooh! Can I come!" Mira was standing on her chair, arm raised like she was in school.

"Sure, in fact let's make it a family trip." Confidence Heart stood up.

Love Heart stepped up and gave Confidence a soft kiss, "If you insist. Let's go now."

The three of them stood just outside the front door, Miracle Heart standing between her parents as they went through their warm-up stretches.

"Remember how to fly?" Love Heart looked down at his daughter.

"Yeah!" Mira's tails waved as the wind picked up around her.

"Then let's race there!" Confidence suddenly shot up into the sky.

"Hey wait!" Love Heart laughed as he and Mira took off after her.

Everyone in the Care Bear Family knew the way to Big Star Point. Twice a year they had to round up all the Star buddies then the Heart buddies that flew around the Kingdom of Caring and bring them to the Great Wishing Star; the stardust and heart seeds contained within provided the magical energy to keep the Kingdom of Caring afloat, solid and even allowed it to grow if the need ever came.

Mira stared down as they flew over the deserts and canyons that lead to Big Star Point. "It looks so different from up here."

"Yep," Confidence Heart slowed down to fly up alongside her daughter, "And a lot faster than running that trail."

Love Heart looked back at them and smiled, then looked ahead towards Big Star Point. The sky started to dim and Love Heart pointed forwards, "Look!" All three of them watched Big Star Point come into view and the Great Wishing Star descending from above: a colossal five pointed star with a mouth and eyes on the front. The three of them didn't even bother to land, only slowing to a stop and hovering at eye level with the Star.

"Thank you for coming, Love Heart Bear, and you two as well, Confidence Heart Fennec and Miracle Heart Kitsune. I wish I had time to tell you more but I have a very important mission for you. I have seen the arrival of Futureheart and I do not know what will come, but there are other lost Care Bears on Earth that you need to find, something only you can do." Love Heart looked down at his tummy symbol then back up to the Star as it continued to speak, "But there is something more urgent for you to take care of. There is a child on Earth who needs your help, one I have only just become aware of. He is begging to be rescued from his life and has incredible of potential but you need to go find him before it's too late."

"Where is he?" Love Heart asked.

"I will guide you to his home, be careful for his sake and yours."

Images flashed in Love Heart's mind, showing him the way. He held his head as he made sense of the directions then turned around, "Follow me." He shot off back the way they came. Confidence and Mira didn't need any convincing to chase after him. They completely bypassed Care-a-Lot as they headed down towards Earth.

"Where are we going, dad?" Miracle Heart asked as she caught up to her parents.

"I don't know the name, but it's somewhere in the United States," Love Heart searched the ground as the city came into view.

The street was relatively quiet as the three of them landed in front of the small townhouse. It was late in the morning so they just assumed everyone was at work or school. Love Heart looked the place up and down then stepped up to the front door and knocked with Confidence and Mira right behind him.

"Hello?" as he knocked the door swung in, not having been latched properly. A bit unsure about trespassing but knowing his duty, Love Heart pushed the door the rest of the way open.

All three of them recoiled at the smell, Miracle Heart even plugging her nose. "What's that!?" her voice buzzed with her nostrils plugged.

"Booze," Confidence Heart blew and a bubble of clean air appeared over her head, shortly followed by one around her husband and daughter. She grimaced, "ugg, I can still smell it."

"Not as bad though, thanks." Love Heart stepped into the house to find it was a mess. The smell coming from a box full of empty beer bottles and cans. He called again, "Hello? Is anyone here?" No answer.

"Should we be in here?" Mira asked.

"If a kid lives here then we can't get him out fast enough," Confidence Heart stepped past Love Heart, kicking an empty can on the floor in disgust, "And neither can we."

The search of the house didn't take too long, it was only a one story building, and it was Miracle Heart who found the child's room first. "Mom! Dad! Over here!"

Mira stood in the entrance of the bedroom. It looked like a typical kid's room but small, without many toys, a few crayon drawings of Care Bears stuck to the walls and a small school notebook on the floor. Mira walked over and picked up the book as he parents arrived. She opened the notebook and started to read aloud, not noticing her parents right away.

"_Ever since mom left us, dad has been hurting me and also saying mean things to me. When I ask for his attention or help with my homework he ignores me. Then when I do something wrong or make any noise when he is watching the news he picks me up by the arm and threw me in my room. I don't know why he's so mean to me."_

Several dried tearstains marked the lines under the entry.

Love Heart approached Mira, "You shouldn't read someone's journal, Mira, that's private."

Mira looked up at her parents and closed the book, "I'm sorry, dad, but maybe the kid we need to help wrote this."

Confidence looked from her daughter to her husband, "Can't hurt to see what he wrote about, if we want to help him."

Love Heart sighed, "Alright. You can keep reading Mira."

Mira nodded then turned the page and read the second entry.

"_Seven days have past and Dad drinks more and more and has punched me saying its because of me that Mom left us. I don't deserve to live. I wish the Care bears did exist so I could be taken by them and loved. At least they would care for me and never abuse me."_

More dry tearstains under the entry. Mira shuddered and turned to the third entry.

"_Ever since Mom left us Dad I'll always blames me for this why is this my fault? I always feel everything is my fault. I wish the Care Bears would rescue me from this. Especially my favorite Care Bear Wish Bear. I wish they were real. Today today again my dad was watching the news and he smacked me of across my face. This makes me feel so rejected and unloved."_

"Big words for a little kid," Confidence mumbled. Mira shushed her and read the fourth entry.

"_Another two weeks have passed since Mom has been gone. It's been over two months now since she has been gone and left without any notes or for any reason. Dad drinks and gets drunk every night at the bar before he comes home. I am so afraid of him. I always shake every time he comes home. My nerves are on end, and my stomach is in knots each I see him come home and on edge. I want this cycle to end. I missed him how he was before. He always takes it out on me when he is not in a good mood._

"_Today a dreadful thing happened, my dad punched me across the face because I didn't get his beer can fast enough for him. He sent me to bed without supper and I was heart broken. I no longer feel love with my Father. I hate him. This abuse has been getting far too out of hand. I need to run away."_

Mira was trembling, she rubbed her eyes as she started to cry but turned to the fifth entry. At the top of the page there was a crayon drawing of a young boy holding hands with what was unmistakably Wish Bear. An arrow from the text pointed to the drawing.

"_Here I have a picture drawn the walking and wish bear holding hands my friend and my favorite Care Bear in Care-A-Lot playing together. I get my mind in trapped in this world that I wish Care Bears were real because this is the only thing that makes me from my everyday life my life sucks. I don't know how much longer I can take this."_

"Why didn't he know about us?" Mira asked but didn't wait for an answer as she turned to the sixth entry.

"_I really wish that Wish bear was there would come so that I could go to Carelot and be raised by The Care Bears because at least I know with them I would be loved and never be abused or rejected. I hate my dad I hate my life and this is why I wish Care Bears were real so that I could be with them. I would choose to be with them in a heartbeat a hundred times over. Because at least I know what them I would always be loved and never be abused and always feel loved and wanted and have encouragement and real relationship with people who love me that surround me with love and carry me when I am down. Even though they are fictional creatures at least they understand what real love is and they would be dedicated as a family. This is all I ever wanted ever since Mom left I have always been heartbroken. I feel my existence is a sad one. I wish I could just end it all some days..."_

Mira finally had enough and dropped the book, her four tails drooping. Love Heart and Confidence Heart had teared up as well and Love Heart crouched down in front of his daughter. "Mira?"

"Why would his dad do that?!" She sobbed then lunged forwards, grabbing her dad in a big hug. Love Heart hugged back and patted her softly on the back while Confidence Heart retrieved the journal and continued to read in silence. "Why would any dad do that?"

"I don't know," Love Heart gently rubbed his daughter's back, "I just know that it's wrong. He's taking out his anger on his son and drinking so much it makes him act stupidly."

"You'd never hurt me, Daddy, mommy?" Mira's reversion to childish names made Confidence Heart crouch down next to them.

"I promise, we'd never hurt you like this," Love Heart said.

Confidence smiled weakly and wiped some of the tears from her daughter's face, "Yeah, we both promise we'll never be like this." She stood up as Mira continued to hold on to Love Heart then opened the journal up again.

Confidence Heart read in silence, occasionally glancing up at her family to make sure they were alright. She grimaced and winced at the various entries until she finally reached the end. "Love Heart, Mira, I think you should hear this one." Her voice caused Mira to look up, eyes still wet. Love Heart still held onto Mira as Confidence read the last entry.

"_Many of the past previous journal entries have been me wishing I could be with the Care Bears and raised by them. I no longer desire to be with my dad nor in this cruel world where I also get teased by kids. I feel that my value is not of any worth, not to my dad, and not to anybody in this world and I wish I could just disappear in the world and no one could never find me ever again and just disappear in Care-A-Lot and be happy with the Care Bears. True Heart, Noble heart which would all be my dedicated friends. Many of the past journal entries were pictures of me with the Care Bears at how happy I could be with them. I imagine playing with them and being raised with them playing with them being cuddled by them to know what their fur feels like in always having a warmth around me and unconditional love. And I said this many times before I would I would exchange my life willingly to be raised by then I wouldn't care what the cost would be I wouldn't care even if it was forced kidnapping or to be raised by them at least I know it would be with good intentions and love where I feel I should always be._

"_Today I did everything my dad asked me to do but yet he still punched me on my stomach and I feel terrible. I am in a lot of pain and this is the last straw. I am going to run away after this. I forgive you Care Bears if if you are real and it come after me. I probably don't deserve to be raised by you or loved by you anyhow since you probably don't want to see my ugly face either. Cries. I'm a worthless child that nobody wants. My life is a mess and I just got to get out of here. But if you do exist Care Bears, some great Wishing Star I would do anything to be with you guys. I would do chores, and I promise I would be good. I promise I would follow the rules. I also would hope that you guys will not reject me if you found me and made sure that I I was accepted by you whether or not I may feel worthy or not. I have to get away from my father. The abused just has gotten worse each and every single day and anything out there cannot be as bad as what is going on at home. Okay Wishing Star if you were real I will make a wish upon you right now to be part of your family the Care Bear family I just wished it this hurt in this pain will go away forever I don't want to hurt anymore. If this was my only prayer this would be my request that for me to start a new and to be loved and dedicated even with my messed-up mind I know you guys could fix me I would not reject me no matter what. That is what a family should be. A child should always feel loved and welcomed aside their own home not abused and always heartbroken. A child is supposed to be played with by his parents caressed touched loved even tickled. I would love to be pinned down and tickled. I honestly do feel that when I ran away this might be the last time anyone ever hears of me because I fear my dad will catch up to me and not let me live or let me go. So far anyone that sees us journal entry just know that my name is Joaquin in that I just wish to be loved as a child should have been loved by his father and his mother. Also carebears or especially Wish bear if you see this note, always know you were my favorite carebear, but to any other carebear or carebear cousin, know that I would always be good if you took me in. I'm sorry if I'm not the child you wanted if you already know. sniffs well time to run away..."_

Love Heart stood up and turned to face Confidence as she finished, "Was that written today?"

Confidence closed the book, "Yes, which means he's out there running."

"Then we have to find him!" Miracle Heart clenched her fists, "We can't let his dad do that to him!"

Love Heart and Confidence couldn't help but smile at their daughter's enthusiasm. "Then let's get going!" Confidence Heart said.

As they exited the house, Love Heart's tummy symbol started to glow red. "What?" he looked down then forwards and his expression hardened. "This way!" he took off with his wife and daughter hot on his tail.

OoOoO

A young boy was running down the street, panting with exertion and clutching a book in his arms as a voice from behind him spurred him onwards, "Joaquin! Get back here!" The voice was slightly slurred. Joaquin stumbled and turned into a park into a currently abandoned playground and crawled into a plastic pipe that lay on the ground. Unfortunately, the man saw where he went.

The man unfastened his belt and pulled it out then stretched it to get a firmer grip. Joaquin was cowering as the man reached in and grabbed his leg, "I told you get back here!" he raised his arm and prepared to swing as he pulled the young boy out of the plastic tunnel. Though some people were nearby none of them moved to stop him.

"Get away from him!" the father turned to the voice to see a three colorful animals running straight at him.

Confidence Heart let off a bust of air behind her and launched into a flying kick, striking the father's hand as she flew past. He shouted in pain and dropped the belt as she landed. Love Heart ran around him and took up a defensive stance between him and his son as Joaquin crawled back into the pipe but turned around to watch what was happening. Mira stayed behind the man, panting a bit from running around so much and not being as used to it as her parents.

Finally recovering from the shock of seeing the colorful animals, the father glared at them, "Get the fuck outta my way!" He kicked out at Confidence Heart, who blocked the blow with her forearms without even flinching.

"Not a chance!" Confidence Heart said, uncrossing her arms.

The father spotted Mira behind him and aimed a back kick at her. Even as she jumped out of the way, Love Heart was there to block his kick, "Don't you dare touch my daughter!"

"Then I'll touch you!" the father suddenly lunged down at Love Heart, his arms fastening around the green bear's neck; he wasn't strong enough to lift the bear off the ground so he settled for trying to strangle him. Love Heart's hands shot up to grab onto his assailant's hands as he tried to force them off.

"Dad!" Mira tried to jump in.

"Stay there! Your dad's fine!" Confidence shouted. She looked back over her shoulder to see that the boy had climbed out of the plastic pipe and was watching his father try to strangle a Care Bear.

The father grit his teeth, "Die!"

"No!" Love Heart pulled on his hands and pried them away from his neck. He saw the stunned look on the man's face and gave a sinister grin, "Don't look so shocked." A jolt of electricity shot from Love Heart's hands and through the man's arms.

He jerked away from Love Heart and stumbled back as the pain receded, "Freaks, I'll be back!" he turned and stormed away.

Love Heart rubbed his neck slightly to ease the pain that was there, little as it was, now they could check on the boy. All three of them turned to see Joaquin had walked around the pipe and now stood amongst them. He was staring at Confidence Heart.

"You're real?" he reached out a hand towards her.

Confidence Heart grinned, "I'm as real as you are."

Joaquin reached out and touched her arm, feeling the soft but coarse fur. Then grinned, "You are real!" He suddenly shot forwards and took her in a tight hug. Confidence Heart wasn't bothered as he couldn't have hurt her even if he wanted to. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem," Confidence Heart patted him on the back.

Joaquin let her go and stepped back, giving a happy look to all three of them, "Thank you, but I have to go before he comes back to find me." He turned and started to walk away.

Confidence Heart was struck by an idea, an idea that came from the journal pages she had read. She darted in front of Joaquin, "Where do you think you're going?" she grinned. She was slightly taller than the five-year-old boy and managed to wrap her arms around him and under his arms, lifting him off the ground. Their noses touched as she tilted back to make sure his feet were off the ground.

Joaquin blushed and smiled, "I'm going to go, I have to get away from my father." Despite his smile there was note of fear in the boy's voice.

"You already got away from your father, we rescued you." Confidence's voice was kind but she kept a firm grip on Joaquin.

"Yeah, now that means I need to go before he comes back," Joaquin squirmed in Confidence's grip but was unable to escape.

"You're not going anywhere," Confidence kept a firm grip underneath his arms as she grinned as he struggled in her grasp.

Love Heart walked over and took Joaquin's journal from Confidence's hand, "We found this at your home, we know you want to be raised by the Care Bears and live with us." Love Heart opened the journal and showed Joaquin some of his own crayon drawings.

"Hey! Who said you could look at that?" Joaquin growled and tried to struggle out of Confidence's grasp.

"Hold still!" Confidence grunted but easily countered his struggles and held on as he started to pant from the effort and the energy he burned up running from his father earlier. "Just relax," Confidence gave a disarming smile which somehow made Joaquin blush, "We're your friends, we came here to rescue you."

Joaquin stopped struggling and looked down, "But why? I don't deserve this…"

Love Heart opened the journal and began to read, _"June 3 I wish I had a carebear friend to hold hands with, and to cuddle with. At least in there arms I can forget all about my pain and abuse my father puts me through, to know I am loved."_ He shut the journal and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Joaquin started at hearing his own words read back to him but smiled at Love Heart despite being held firmly in place by Confidence.

"Mom! Dad! He's back!" Miracle Heart's shout caused Love Heart to spin around and see Joaquin's father approaching, a handgun pointed right at his daughter!

"Forgot I had this," his aim was unsteady but he spotted Joaquin in Confidence's grasp as he squirmed to get away from him. Any observers had since fled the park upon seeing the man with the firearm enter which left the five of them alone, obscured from the roads by the surrounding trees. "Give him back to me or she dies."

Love Heart tensed, "Mira, get behind me now!" lightning crackled across his arms and his tummy symbol glowed white.

Mira saw the weapon in the man's hand and froze in place. It was pointed at her and his finger was on the trigger; she could hear his heartbeat and see him twitch, one little mistake and he would fire.

"Don't move!" the man shouted at her, "I need you to stay there then I'll let you go."

Love Heart looked back at Confidence, who had turned her back to the man, Joaquin still held tight in her arms so her back was between him and his father. He readied to move as he saw the man tense up.

Love Heart's body electrified for an instant and he seemed to vanish as the man's finger jerked and the handgun fired. Mira was rooted to the spot right as her father appeared in front of her, drawing a sword from his tummy symbol and bringing it up, the flat of the blade deflecting the bullet. In the same instant his left hand shot out and the lightning that surrounded his body danced along his arm and shot right at the man, lancing across the distance and blasting the gun out of his hand.

The man cried out in pain and grabbed at his now scorched hand, "You little fucker!" he shouted, "That's my good hand!"

He turned to retrieve his gun only to feel a sharp sting at his neck. Love Heart had crossed the distance in an instant and his gaze had hardened, no longer just severe but full of deadly intent as the tip of his sword pricked at the man's neck.

Love Heart bared his teeth and hissed out at him, "You tried to shoot my daughter, it's bad enough that you torment and ruin your son's life but if you had actually hit her then I promise that you would not still be standing here alive!" Despite his appearance, the man knew Love Heart wasn't joking around as he continued to speak, "Leave now, I promise that if you're not gone in a minute then I'll stop being so nice."

The man stepped back and held up his hands. He back away until he was amid the trees, then turned and sped away. Love Heart kept his sword pointed in the man's direction as he watched him go; he didn't relax until the man was long gone from his sight. Finally, he let his sword dissipate then turned to his daughter.

Mira was still rooted to the spot in fear as Love Heart approached and crouched in front of her, "Mira! Mira say something!"

Mira immediately started to cry and flung her arms around her father, "Oh dad! I was so scared! I thought he was going to sh-shoot me!" Love Heart hugged her back and rubbed her back as Mira let it all out.

Joaquin had immediately tried to struggle away as soon as he heard his dad's voice but Confidence had kept a firm grasp on him. He calmed down and watched in amazement as Love Heart disarmed then scared his father off, even moreso as he watched the green bear comforting his scared daughter.

"I wish my dad was like Love Heart," Joaquin whispered.

"Oh you do?" Confidence Heart smirked, which made Joaquin blush and turn his head back to her. He didn't realize he'd said that out loud. "Because we came just for you, Joaquin and it looks like we came to save you just in time," Confidence Heart nuzzled her nose against Joaquin's.

Joaquin's expression brightened up, "You mean you came, just for me?"

"Yes, we came specifically for you," Confidence said.

"Re-really?" tears of joy began to leak from Joaquin's eyes.

"Really," Confidence said.

Mira had calmed down enough for Love Heart to let her go and the two of them joined Confidence and Joaquin by the play equipment.

A voice spoke in all their minds, _'then your wish shall be granted.'_ The three Care Bears instantly recognized it as belonging to the Great Wishing Star; Confidence was startled enough to let go of Joaquin.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Joaquin panicked and took off at a run, "No, I can't handle this!"

Confidence Heart was the first to react and ran ahead of Joaquin, getting enough of a lead on him to turn around and grab him off his feet, hooking her arms under his again. She grinned and nuzzled her nose against his, "Nu-uh, there's no escape and we're going to make sure you get your wish to live with us." Joaquin blushed as he felt his heart race.

Love Heart came up behind Joaquin and, on some unknown impulse, tickled the boy's sides which made Joaquin giggle and blush. "Now you won't be able to resist being transformed."

A bright light emanated from above them as the Star's voice spoke again, this time out loud, "Joaquin your mind is clouded by the abuse your father inflicted on you and I can feel the dissonance within you. To save you from yourself, your memories of your life as a human will be removed and you will be raised by Love and Confidence."

Joaquin felt the cloud of magic obscure his mind and he mumbled, "Love and Confidence."

Both Love Heart and Confidence winced as they felt the light surrounding them tug at their very being, turning yellow on Confidence and green on Love Heart. The two energy fields merged together over the boy's body as his clothes dissolved and his body began to reshape: he shrunk, tan fur sprouted up all over his body, his ears moved up his head and rounded off, his feet became big padded bear paws, his closed eyes became more expressive, his nose and mouth pushed forwards to merge into a bear's snout with a heart shaped tip, a small red heart appeared on his tush and lastly the fur at the center of his forehead darkened into a small eight-pointed star.

"A unicorn Star?" Love Heart asked as he and Confidence were left holding a five-year-old Care Bear cub between them.

"Mom, dad, what just happened?" Mira rubbed her eyes, the stared at the cub the two now held between them.

Love Heart and Confidence exchanged looks, then looked down at the bear that was Joaquin. Love Heart was the first to speak, "We need to get him to the Great Wishing Star. Confidence can you carry him?"

"No problem." Confidence Heart still had a tight grip on the cub as she lifted off the ground. She smiled, "heh, easier now that he's lighter."

Love Heart nodded to Mira then the three of them took off back towards the Kingdom of Caring.

OoOoO

The Great Wishing Star still hovered at big Star Point as the group arrived. Confidence Heart still held onto the tan bear even after landing.

"I see your mission was a success," the star said.

"This was your plan?" Confidence Heart looked down at the still unconscious bear cub in her arms.

The star closed its eyes for a moment then opened them again, "It was. You saw how he was treated and what came of it. There is more to it than that and you will discover his potential and power in time. Raise and train him well, like I know you can."

"When is he going to wake up?" Confidence Heart asked.

"When you give him a name and tummy symbol, but before you do the three of you must make a promise to me." The Star seemed to lower closer to the ground and Love Heart, Confidence and Mira listened intently. "The magic I used to change him means he is your true son, a mix of your genes was used to create his new form. His memories of being human are gone and they must never be allowed to resurface. I have wiped all that I can from his mind but you must keep this a secret from him. I trust you not to tell anyone who doesn't need to know but you must promise you will never tell him about his past."

"I promise!" Mira was the first to speak, making a 'cross my heart' motion across her chest.

"He won't find out from me, I promise," Confidence Heart said.

"I promise, I won't tell him anything," Love Heart held up a hand, then paused and turned back to his wife and his new son, "What should we call him."

Love Heart and Confidence shared looks for a moment, a couple name ideas popping into their heads but nothing concrete. It was Miracle Heart who gave the suggestion, her four tails wagging as she did so. "How about Shimmering Star Bear? Because the Star brought him to us."

Confidence Heart smiled, "Sounds great, Love Heart?" she set the bear down on the ground. Love Heart nodded and fired off a glowing replica of his tummy symbol, which spiraled around the bear before settling on his tummy, forming a three pointed yellow star.

Shimmering Star stirred and opened his eyes to see Love Heart and Confidence Heart standing over him. "Momma?" he whispered.

"That's right, sweetie," Confidence Heart felt a warmth spread through her, something she felt she would never feel again.

Shimmering Star turned to Love Heart, "Are you my daddy?"

Love Heart reached down to stroke his cheek, "Yes, I am."

"And I'm your big sister, Miracle Heart Kitsune," Mira had stepped into view just as, "Nice to meet you, Shimmers."

'Shimmers' giggled as Confidence Heart picked him up. "Want to fly?" She asked.

"Yes!" Shimmer said.

"Then let's fly home." Confidence held tight onto him and took off.

Mira was about to follow when she saw Love Heart still standing at the base of big star point, "Dad? Are you coming?"

Love Heart gave a contented smile, "I'll catch up in a minute, go with mom." Mira cast an odd look back at Love Heart then took off.

Love Heart watched them go for a minute, then reached into his tummy symbol and pulled out Joaquin's journal. He touched the cover for a moment, then sighed and discarded the book on the ground, "Never remember," he said before he shot off. The blast from Love Heart's launch sent the book flying off the edge of Big Star Point and the winds carried it away, pages ripping out and shredding and the fragments scattering out of memory…

OoOoO

Transformation took its toll on a body so right after lunch, Confidence and Love Heart sent their new son, Shimmering Star Bear, off to bed. He slept in their guest room which they decided they would decorate and rearrange later but for now they thought it was best to just let him sleep.

Mira sat at the dining table staring into her bowl, idly pushing the last spoonful of mac and cheese around with her spoon.

"Mira, are you alright?" Love Heart scooted a chair over to his daughter's side.

"Not hungry?" Confidence asked, "You don't have to finish all of it."

"It's not that," Mira set her spoon down and looked up at her parents, "It's just… why didn't we find Joaquin sooner? His dad was doing this to him for so long and…we should have gone to help him before."

Love Heart sighed, "Because… we can't help everyone, Mira. There are millions of children on earth who need our help but our kind of help can't always work, and there aren't even a hundred of us yet. Sometimes…things just slip through and we never know about it. We do all that we can but sometimes it just isn't enough."

"What can we do though?" Mira looked up at her father.

"Just do our best to help every child that we can," Love Heart gave her a kiss on the forehead, "I know it's hard to think about but it's something we have to accept and do our best to change things."

"OK…" Mira took her last bite then got up and dropped the dishes in the sink, "Can I go to Marina's please."

Both her parents knew she needed some cooldown time so Confidence nodded, "OK, just be home for supper."

Mira trudged out the door, her four tails drooping. She just needed to take her mind of the troubling questions today had raised for her.

Confidence Heart leaned back in her chair and sighed then smiled. "This feels good."

"Having another kid?" Love Heart was also smiling, "Not disappointed you couldn't have him yourself?"

"Maybe…" Confidence leaned forwards, "Sure I miss being pregnant and I don't get to go through the process, but at least this way we skip the worst stuff, like the terrible twos and toilet training."

"MOMMA! DADDY!" Shimmering Star's voice caused both of them to jump to their feet and speed to their new son's room. The found him awake and sitting up in bed, crying.

Confidence Heart was at his side immediately, "What's wrong, Shimmers? Did you have a bad dream?"

"No," Shimmers sniffed, "I'm wet."

Love Heart pulled back the covers and saw the wet patch around his son's legs, "You wet the bed."

"OK, come to momma," Confidence Heart lifted Shimmers off the bed, "I'll take care of you."

"I'll run these through the laundry then." Love Heart began to strip the bed as Confidence carried the still sniffling Shimmers to the bathroom.

Confidence Heart gave Shimmers a quick bath and dried him off then set him on the counter, "OK now let's make sure you don't do that again." She pushed him back so he was lying on the counter then opened one of the counter's drawers, "Good thing we saved these from when Miracle Heart was a cub," She pulled out a large cloth diaper.

Shimmers leaned up as Confidence slid the diaper under his bottom, "No! I'm a big bear I don't need those." He tried to get up only for Confidence Heart to lean forwards and hold him down.

"Sorry but we're not going to take any risks," Confidence pulled the diaper up over his front and tied it tight at its sides. It was a snug fit, tied too tight for Shimmers to undo on his own or even slip off without untying. "There, all done."

Shimmers was blushing as he sat up, feeling the new rather thick padding underneath him before Confidence lifted him onto the ground. "There, that's better," she tickled his cheek which made him giggle, "I guess you're my big baby now."

Love Heart came up from the basement in time to see Confidence Heart lead the diapered Shimmers out of the bathroom. He sighed, "As long as you're awake we should take you to Take Care."

"Who's that, daddy?" Shimmers asked.

"The doctor."

OoOoO

"Alright, you're done." Shimmers had been oddly cooperative as Take Care went through his full exam and he stepped off the exam table, still wearing his diaper. Take Care turned to Love Heart, "I need to talk to you before you."

"I know. I'll see you at home, go with momma ok, Shimmers?" Love Heart crouched down to look his son in the eye.

"OK," Shimmer's nodded then waddled off until Confidence Heart scooped him up to carry him home.

Once they were gone, Take Care turned back to Love Heart, "Alright, where did your new 'son' come from?"

Love Heart sighed, "Sit down, it's a long one."

It didn't take as long as Love Heart made it out to be but Take Care's expression kept changing to one of shock as Love Heart explained all the events of the day. Once he was finished, Take Care put a hand to her forehead, "This is easily the oddest case I've ever dealt with, not that I blame you for wanting to get him out of that home and I guess I can't dispute it now that it's done. At least this does explain a couple things."

"Like what?" Love Heart was seated now too.

"Why he wet his bed for one thing," Take Care turned to the notes on her computer, "the transformation messed with his bodily control a bit, I'm surprised he can still walk and talk as well as he can, but he's going to have problems controlling himself for a while and if his memory was wiped he likely just forgot how to use the toilet, among other things."

Love Heart sighed, "So much for skipping that. So you'll keep this to yourself right?"

Take Care rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance, "It's my job to keep this confidential so I'll let you reveal it at your discretion, even if I think this is too far even for the Great Wishing Star. Just keep me updated is anything else strange happens. I will say that, biologically, he is your son because of how he was changed." She stood up and faced Love Heart, "What will you tell everyone if they ask?"

Love Heart stood up, "As much of the truth as I can, that we found him on earth and decided to adopt him because the Wishing Star asked us."

"Right. Good luck," Take Care sighed and turned back to her notes as Love Heart left.

OoOoO

Joaquin's father had made it home without incident, ranting to himself all the way. The first thing he did was dig a beer out of the fridge, pop off the lid and start guzzling it down. "Fucking ungrateful brat, chased off the love of my life and now he runs away and leaves me alone here."

"I take it you don't know where that ungrateful brat is then, Antonio."

"Taken by some fucking bears!" Antonio spotted the man with long purple hair and hurled the half-full bottle at him. Mental Heart didn't even flinch as the bottle flew past and shattered on the wall behind him. Antonio finally seemed to acknowledge the intruder's presence, "Get the fuck out of my house!"

Mental Heart didn't reply, merely probed into Antonio's mind to find his answers; it was easy as the encounter was still fresh in the drunkard's mind. "I see. So the Care Bears got to him first, especially thanks to you."

Antonio stumbled up out of his chair and swung his arm towards Mental Heart, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Suddenly his right arm tensed up and his eyes went wide.

Mental Heart narrowed his eyes into a sinister glare, "The way you treated your son, it's amazing he didn't run off sooner." Antonio's arm lurched over to the kitchen counter, his legs moving stiffly as if being pulled on invisible strings.

Antonio grabbed at his right arm with his left, the force pulling on his limbs snapping him out of his drunken stupor. Anger overrode fear as he glared at the Mental Heart, "What the hell are you doing?" he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Making you do my dirty work for me. I don't want to touch anything in this festering hole." Mental Heart turned and walked towards Joaquin's bedroom even as Antonio reached the counter and grabbed the smallest knife from the knife block.

Realization dawned on Antonio and he grabbed at his own wrist with his only free hand. His feet held in place as he wrestled with his own arm. "Let me go!" his voice carried with it notes of fear.

Mental Heart stood in Joaquin's room, "The only place of sanity here. A sanctuary against the madness without." He looked at one of the crayon drawings on the wall and levitated it over to him: a group of Care Bears and Joaquin drawn under a rainbow. Mental Heart glared at the image then grabbed it in his hands and tore it to shreds as Antonio screamed from the room behind him. The other pictures were shredded by psionic force as Mental Heart left the bedroom.

Antonio had been forced to pin his left hand to the counter by stabbing the knife right through and into the wood and his hand now reached for the largest knife in the block. "Stop! Please!" He begged as his hand pulled the knife free of the block and Mental Heart walked past without saying a word.

Mental Heart stopped for a moment on the front step as he heard Antonio scream in agony, then suddenly stop. He looked down at his hands and saw them trembling then clenched them into fists. "I can't believe I'm jealous." Then he walked away.


	9. Meeting in the Middle

Chapter 9: Meeting in the Middle

"Can't get away from me!" Confidence Heart gave a sudden dash and scooped up her new son Shimmering Star Bear as he tried to get away from her. "I think someone needs to lie down." Confidence Heart grinned as she carried Shimmers to his bedroom.

"I'm not sleepy," Shimmers wiggled in her grasp but grinned nonetheless.

"I think you will be," she carefully dropped the diapered bear onto his bed.

Shimmers giggled as he bounced off the far too large bed then saw Love Heart standing in the doorway, having come over to see what was going on. "Daddy!"

Confidence Heart looked over her shoulder and smirked, "Come join us, Love Heart."

Love Heart smiled and was about to step in when a thought struck him, "Just give me a few minutes, I need to make a phone call."

"Aww!" Shimmers pouted, until Confidence Heart tickled his paw pads which made him shriek with laughter.

Love Heart stepped outside and walked a short distance away, just to make sure no one could hear him, then dug his heartphone out of his tummy symbol.

OoOoO

Independent Bear and Futureheart were in Defender's training room inside the Hall of Hearts. Futureheart's psychonite infused sword clashed against Indy's katana blade, each hit sending out shockwaves around the room. Indy jumped back and swung his sword, sending out a wave of psionic energy right at Futureheart, who barely had a moment to slice the wave in two with his sword.

Futureheart was about to charge when Indy held up a hand to stop him. "Hold on, phone call." Futureheart relaxed as Indy dug his heartphone out of his tummy symbol. "Hello?"

"Indy, it's Love Heart."

"Is everything alright? I'm in the middle of training." Indy said.

"It's complicated. I have a son now…"

Indy listened intently, his face not betraying any emotion as Love Heart ran through the events of the previous day.

"…so I'd like you to check in on his ex-father, just to be safe. I can't leave right now, I need to be here for Shimmering Star."

Indy sighed, "This is all kinds of messed up, but I'll check for you. Are you sure you're alright with telling me this?"

"Of course. We're brothers."

"OK. See you later, brother." Indy smiled as he hung up then sighed, "Well I've got a mission to go on, Futur, mind waiting for me here?"

"I think we're done for the day." Futureheart sheathed his sword on his back, "What's the mission about?"

Indy headed for the exit, "I'll explain on the way."

OoOoO

Miracle Heart Kitsune and Marina Bear both lay, belly down, on Marina's bed, a pile of playing cards in front of them.

"Got any 5s?" Mira asked.

"Nope, go fish," Marina gave a catty grin as Mira took a card from the pile, sighing when it wasn't a five.

"Got any 10s?" Marine asked.

"Yes…" Mira passed the card she just picked up to Marina, "Where's Flair today?"

"Music lessons, he's really getting into them." Marina looked at her hand, "got any kings?"

"Go fish," Mira looked back down at her hand.

After a full minute of silence, Marina looked up from her hand into Mira's face; she seemed a million miles away. "Mira, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Mira looked up, "Sorry, just thinking too much."

Marina pushed herself up and looked over at Mira's tails, all four of which looked droopy even while lying down. "What's got you down?"

Mira put her cards down and sighed, "I went on a mission with mom and dad yesterday. It was rough…"

"How rough, like bullies rough or Shrieky attack rough?" Marina stopped talking as she saw Mira avert her gaze, "Why didn't you tell me about it last night?"

"Didn't want to think about it, still don't… maybe…" Mira picked up her cards again but Marina reached over to stop her hand.

"Try talking about it, remember we're supposed to share our feelings." Marina gave a pleading look to Mira.

Mira looked back up at Marina. She knew she had to keep the details about her new brother a secret but that wasn't what was bothering her, and it was also the part she really didn't want to talk about. "We had to help a boy with an abusive father, I saw him try to beat his son with a belt and… I read his journal…" Mira was already starting to cry and collapsed her head into her hands.

Marina pushed herself up and crawled next to Mira so she could lie alongside her. She put an arm around Mira's shoulders, which made her turn to the blue tiger-striped bear, her eyes full of tears.

"How…How could anyone do that to their own child?" Mira sobbed.

Marina brushed a tear away from Mira's eyes, "I don't know. I mean… I don't want to think about it either." Marina shuddered.

"Girls! Lunch is ready!" The voice came from Tugs.

Eager for a distraction and their game forgotten, Mira and Marina got up off the bed. Before they exited the room, Mira gave Marina a hug, "Thank you."

"No problem," Marina hugged her back, "Let's just not talk about it. I don't want dad to get too worried."

"OK," Mira was all too happy to not have a reason to talk about it again, at least not so soon. She and Marina headed down for lunch.

OoOoO

"Alright Flair, ready to try it from the top?" Harmony Bear sat at her keyboard facing Flair Heart Raccoon.

"Yes." The pink raccoon had a harmonica in his hands and he took a deep breath as Harmony began the opening bars of a song. Flair Heart put the harmony to his lips and began to play. As the opening bars ended, Flair pulled the harmonica back and started to sing.

"_It's nine…"_ He stopped, and so did Harmony.

"Flair, are you alright?" Harmony stood up from her seat.

Flair gulped, "I sound wrong."

Harmony walked over to Flair, her just barely perceptible baby bump showing now, "You sound great, Flair, how are you wrong?"

"My voice is too high," Flair looked down at his feet.

Harmony crouched down in front of Flair and lifted his chin up. She smiled, "Flair, you don't need to sound perfect, it's better if you sound like you. Go with the flow and find your own voice."

"Truer advice about music, I have never heard." Loyal Heart had entered the music room while Harmony was speaking.

Harmony was still smiling as she stood up and met Loyal Heart in tight embrace, "Loyal, come to hear me sing?"

"You and your student," Loyal gave Harmony a kiss as his hand wandered to her small baby bump.

"Alright then," Harmony turned to Flair, who still stood there, "Want to try singing again?"

"Umm, I've never sang for anyone else…" Flair scuffed his foot on the ground.

Loyal Heart released Harmony as she walked back to her piano, "Don't worry, just pretend I'm not here."

Flair gulped, then looked at Harmony who nodded and gave an encouraging smile. "O-OK." He took a deep breath and held his harmonica up to his mouth again as Harmony played the opening melody on her keyboard.

OoOoO

Despite the worrying circumstances, Futureheart was smiling more as Indy explained what Love Heart had told him over the phone. When he finished, Indy turned to Futureheart, who was driving the cloud car. "You seem happy about this."

"Of course." Futureheart kept his eyes facing forwards as the city below came into view, "Eight women expecting and Love Heart adopting a former human turned Care Bear. This never happened before. The future is changing and all because I came back here. We can do it. We can save everyone."

"Huh," Indy's mind wandered to Take Care. Did he tell her how he felt before? Probably not. He could have told her after she gave him the push he needed to continue his training but he had resolved not to tell her for fear of ruining their friendship. He smiled, "Yeah, the future is changing." And he was going to change it more. He just had to work up the nerve to tell Take Care how he felt.

As soon as they got close to the ground, they knew something was wrong. Police cars were parked outside Antonio's house and yellow police tape had blocked off access to the building. The cloud car dissolved as they landed and Indy approached the nearest police officer.

The officer, a young middle-eastern woman, moved to block their path to the house. "Sorry, Care Bears, no access to this site is permitted."

Indy and Mental Heart both felt a sudden headache as Indy asked, "What happened here?"

The officer looked over her shoulder to see if she was being watched, then turned back to them and whispered, "Guidance Heart helped me figure out that I wanted to be in law-enforcement so I'll tell it that it was a homicide. I don't know any of the details yet."

"Thanks for telling us. We need to go." Futureheart motioned for Indy to turn and leave.

Worried about being overheard, Futureheart sent his messages to Indy telepathically while Indy replied by "thinking" loud enough for Futureheart to hear him.

'_You felt that right?´ _Futureheart looked over his shoulder just to make sure they weren't being watched.

'_Yeah, I had that same headache when we found that devastated town a decade ago,'_ Indy shuddered, _'I still can't get the images out of my head'_

'_I know this psionic energy, I've felt it before.'_ Futureheart narrowed his eyes, _'It's Mental Heart.'_

"What!?" Indy's shout made several people turn and stare.

'_Shh!_' Futureheart held a finger to his lips but still didn't speak aloud, _'yes, it's him.'_

Indy conjured a cloud car and let Futureheart get into the driver's seat and sat down in the passenger seat. Once they were high up, Indy spoke, "Why would he go after that man?"

"Maybe he knew that Joaquin could become a Care Bear," Futureheart gripped the steering wheel. "Or maybe he had a personal stake in this."

"We need to call meeting about this," Indy pulled his heartphone out and sent a text to Love Heart.

OoOoO

Love Heart had left his heartphone on the kitchen counter, so he didn't hear the ringing as the text was received.

Love Heart leaned up against the doorway to Shimmers' room and smiled, "Need some help, Confidence?"

Confidence had grabbed a giggling Shimmeringstar around the waist and grinned. "Yes, I definitely need some help." She managed to push Shimmers down on the bed and climbed up, pinning his arms to the bed under her knees as she sat on his tummy.

"What are you going to do momma?" Shimmers looked up at her as she grinned.

"Something I know you always wanted." Confidence Heart wiggled her fingers as she brought them close.

"No!" Despite his protests, Shimmers was smiling.

Love Heart came up behind Confidence to where Shimmer's feet were trying to kick and grabbed his ankles with one hand, "Hold still," Love Heart teased as he tickled Shimmeringstar's heart-shaped paw pads. Shimmers shrieked with laughter as he tried to struggle free.

"Our son has such a cute laugh," Confidence Heart tickled Shimmers in his armpits.

"NOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shimmers shrieked with laughter as he squirmed under his parents' assault.

"You love this don't you?" Confidence Heart teased as she scratched Shimmers under his chin.

Love Heart let up long enough to let Shimmeringstar speak. Shimmers was blushing as he spoke, "Yes, momma."

"I thought so," Love Heart used his tummy symbol to conjure a pair of paint brushes and began scrubbing them across Shimmeringstar's paw pads.

Shimmers burst out laughing and Confidence Heart started tickling him under his armpits again. Shimmers tried to cross his feet to protect them from Love Heart but he just grabbed at his son's ankles again and created a feather to replace the brushes, that he swept across his son's paw pads.

"NOHOHOHOHOHOOO!" Shimmers begged as he scrunched up his toes, trying to stop the feather's attack, only for Love Heart to tickle his toes with the feather as well.

"You're so ticklish here, aren't you?" Love Heart teased as he lowered his face to Shimmers' toes and rubbed his nose tip against his son's paw pads. Shimmers squealed and laughed as he tried to wiggle free in vain as Confidence Heart scratched him under his chin.

Finally, Love Heart stopped, sniffed and scrunched up his face in disgust, "I think Shimmers needs a change."

Confidence Heart stopped tickling and sniffed as well. "Yep, our big baby needs a change." She stood up off the bed.

"Nooo!" Shimmers giggled and tried to get up as Confidence grabbed him around his middle.

"Yes," Confidence easily carried Shimmers to the bathroom for a much needed change. She'd gotten a fold out changing table earlier that day, one large enough to set her son on and strap him down so he couldn't wiggle away.

"I'm not a baby!" Shimmer protested.

"Yes, you're our big baby," Confidence teased as she undid his diaper and tossed it in the bin to be washed, wiped him clean, dusted talcum power on him then tied another thick cloth diaper around his bottom, once again too tight for him to undo on his own. "There, all nice and padded and clean," Confidence undid the strap and lifted Shimmers to the ground.

Love Heart had let Confidence Heart take care of diaper duty while he went to the kitchen to look for something to eat, and saw his heartphone on the counter with the text notification on the screen. He picked up it and read the text from Independent Bear.

"_Antonio was killed by Mental Heart. We need to have a meeting."_

Love Heart just stared at the text for a moment, long enough for Shimmers to come out of the bathroom and run over to hug his legs. Love Heart still looked worried as he looked down at his son.

Shimmers saw this and looked worried, "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Love Heart reached down and ruffled his son's headfur, trying his best to smile, "Nothing you have to worry about."

At that moment, the back door opened and Miracle Heart entered, having left Marina's house after lunch. She was still teary eyed, thoughts about her new brother's past still on her mind, when she saw Shimmers hugging her dad's leg.

Shimmers saw his sister's teary face and let go of Love Heart before he walked over to here. "Mira, are you alright?" Mira suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug and started to cry. Shimmers didn't understand but hugged her back.

"Shimmers, I promise I'm going to be the best big sister you could ever have," Mira spoke through her tears.

Shimmers looked up at her, his eyes shining, "You already are, Mira."

Love Heart and Confidence Heart smiled at their children, then Love Heart motioned to the door with his head, "Mira, can you babysit your little brother. Confidence and I have to go to a meeting."

Mira leg go of Shimmers with one arm and wiped her eyes, smiling the whole while, "OK."

Outside, Love Heart showed Confidence Heart the text on his phone, which only made Confidence Heart's face to harden and agree that they had to have a meeting.

The meeting itself was brief but to the point, Mental Heart's attack made them all very aware of the threat he posed and the fact that there might be other Care Bears on Earth who were in danger from him. They all agreed to star searching the Earth for more lost Care Bears before Mental Heart could get to them.

OoOoO

"We're stopping in Estevan for a short maintenance and refuel." The driver of the intercity bus spoke in a monotone voice.

The only passenger on board sighed, "Alright. Might as well take some time off and get lunch,

The bus pulled to a stop and the passenger disembarked. He was a middle-aged brown humanoid moose with short antlers a dark brown heart-shaped stamp on the tip of his snout and dressed in red ceremonial clothing of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, with a small hat perched between his antlers. Despite his age and the slight sag to his face, the moose's eyes were full of life as he stared upwards at the huge naturally colored bald eagle with a red heart stamp on his beak that had landed on top of the small bus depot.

"I see you managed to keep up, old friend," the moose's voice was upbeat though it betrayed his age as he spoke.

The eagle clacked his beak and stared down at the moose, smiling slightly at the corners of his mouth, "I always do, Maurice." The eagle winged down to stand next to Maurice, showing that they stood the same height, "Why are we stopping in this small town."

Maurice turned back to the bus only to find the driver still seated behind the wheel. "The driver said we need to stop for a short maintenance and refueling. I think he may be negligent."

The eagle looked at the console but the driver had covered the fuel gauge with his hand as he continued to stare out the windshield. "I see, perhaps we should find some lunch. You have my ID and wallet?"

Maurice pulled a wallet out of his left pocket, "Right here."

The eagle took the wallet in one of his wings and curled it around, so he wouldn't drop it, then followed after Maurice on talon tip, surprisingly not feeling any pain from the walk. "Refresh my memory, why are you moving to Regina?"

Maurice didn't answer for a moment, waiting until they crossed a street, "My days as an on foot officer are finished. I have the energy and the will but at 55… well, very few RCMP officers reach this age without a career ending injury and I don't want to push my luck. I'm retiring from the force to be an instructor at the training grounds in Regina."

"I see." The eagle noticed a small restaurant nearby and pointed with his wing. "That seems like a good place. Thank you for bringing me with you."

Maurice smiled, "Your eyes saved my life more times than I can count, Eagle. It's the same reason I got them to give you a commission as my partner."

They got some odd looks from the other patrons, especially for Eagle as he still looked like a normal bird despite his size, but they managed to get their food without much fuss. Maurice had a fruit salad and a green salad while Eagle had two wraps, one chicken and one turkey. Eagle's wings were flexible enough to act as hands and he ate rather civilly.

Halfway through his meal, Maurice looked up and around. "Eagle, where is everyone?"

Eagle looked up and searched around. The restaurant was deserted, even the cashiers and cooks were gone. Estevan wasn't a big town but it was hardly empty, but even the streets were deserted.

Their lunch forgotten, the two old friends ran outside. "Something is very wrong here." Eagle flapped his wings and flew up to circle overhead. Maurice watched him and listened, only hearing the slight whoosh of wind through the town streets.

Eagle suddenly let out a screech then was knocked from the sky, plummeting to the ground and smashing against a nearby building.

"Eagle!" Maurice shouted and charged towards the building, just in time for Eagle to hit the ground in a mess of feathers. He was bleeding but was able to push himself up and on to his talons.

"Something unseen struck me from the sky," Eagle shook his head and looked around.

"I forget how durable Care Bears can be." Mental Heart had seemed to materialize in the street a short distance in front of them on the street.

Maurice readied himself as he faced the man with long purple hair, hand straying to the holster at his side. "Who are you? Where is everyone else in town?" He kept his voice level.

"They've been indisposed. I don't need an audience." He looked down at Eagle, who was just barely keeping himself upright. "I'll finish you off first."

*Clack* Maurice pulled out his sidearm and aimed it at Mental Heart. Mental Heart's impassive face looked down at the firearm. "I never thought I'd see the day a Care Bear held a gun."

"I don't like carrying it, but I'm required to." Maurice's eyes narrowed, "I've never fired outside of the firing range in 36 years and I don't want to start now. Put your hands up."

Mental Heart didn't even pretend to follow the moose's orders and Maurice felt his arm being forced sideways. "I'm not going to waste my time on you." The gun shook towards Eagle, and Maurice struggled to turn it away, only pulling his thumb up. The gun was pointed right at Eagle and he pulled the trigger, or tried.

"Safety latch, you're more resourceful than I thought." Mental Heart focused on the gun and pulled it from Maurice's hand. It flew towards him, only for a bolt of lightning to strike the gun in mid air, causing an explosion that blew the gun's handle apart.

"What?!" For the first time he could remember, Mental Heart's face contorted in rage and he looked up just in time to see Futureheart dropping down on top of him, his sword flashing down at him. Mental Heart barely jumped out of the way as the heavy blade struck the street, carving a groove into the asphalt.

Love Heart flew down to hover in-between Maurice and Mental Heart (wearing his cargo vest), he looked back over his shoulder at the moose, "Are you alright?"

"I am, who are you?" Maurice looked up at the green bear.

"Prince General Love Heart Bear of the Care Bear Magi, just hold on." Love Heart landed on the ground and conjured his swords into his hands as a cloud car drove down from above and landed next to Maurice and Eagle.

Guidance Heart jumped out of the cloud car and was immediately at Eagle's side, water and light conjured into her hands. "Just hold still, I'll get you fixed up."

"Thank you, miss raccoon." Eagle did his best to stay still.

Mental Heart's normally impassive face had twisted in rage and confusion as he stared at Futureheart. His head was spinning as he stepped away from him, "No! This can't!" Mental Heart suddenly turned tail and fled.

Futureheart watched in confusion until Mental Heart vanished from view, then turned to face Maurice and Eagle, "Are you alright?"

"Rattled, but I'll be fine." Maurice walked over to where the mangled remains of his sidearm lay on the ground, the gunpowder having detonated inside the clip. "I'm going to have to pay to replace this."

"Then we should get going." Love Heart let his swords dissolve, "I've been given the authority to evacuate any members of our species to the Kingdom of Caring for their protection." He smiled at and offered a hand to Maurice, "Would you like to join the Care Bear Family?"

Maurice looked at Love Heart for a moment, then accepted his hand. "I would, though I am not sure I will fit it."

"You will, my old friend." Eagle walked up to Love Heart, his injuries having been healed by Guidance Heart. "I would like to join as well, if you will have me." He extended a wing to Love Heart.

Love Heart took the wing and shook it like a hand, "We will."

"Then we need to go," Futureheart said, "I don't know why Mental Heart had a breakdown but we need to take advantage of it now."

"Then get in," Guidance Heart got into the driver's seat of the cloud car, with Maurice and Futureheart in the back and passenger seat.

Eagle looked at Love Heart as the bear hovered off the ground, "How do you fly with no wings?"

"Magic," Love Heart smirked, "Can you fly?"

Eagle clacked his beak and spread his wings, "I can fly better than you, young one." Eagle took off into the sky and Love Heart shot off after him.

"Follow me to the Kingdom of Caring!" He shouted.

On the ground, Mental Heart held his chest, breathing heavily as he watched them go. "That bear, he didn't belong here, and how did they find me here?" He took a deep breath and did his best to return to his usual composure. "I'll have to deal with him or he could ruin everything."


	10. Celebrate the Future

A/N: Mounty Heart Moose and Big Mama Tantan belong to Teacher Bear. Thank you for letting me use these characters.

Chapter 10: Celebrate the Future

Take Care sighed as she finished her examination of Maurice and Eagle, "You two aren't badly hurt, though I would have preferred if I could check your injuries before Guidance used magic to heal you."

Eagle shook his wings a bit to straighten out his feathers, "Before today I would not have believed magic existed in that form, but I cannot deny the evidence before my eyes."

Take Care nodded, "Well you two can go, I have to file your medical reports."

"Thank you, Take Care." Maurice stood up from his chair, "that green bear, Love Heart, said he had to take us to a meeting with the other leaders. Should be fun eh?" he asked Eagle.

"Indeed." Eagle and Maurice turned to leave the office, but Take Care stopped them.

"One last question: when were you born?"

Maurice only needed a moment to answer, "1964. I just turned 55."

"And I as well, if my memory serves me correctly," Eagle said.

Take Care bit her lip to hide her surprise, "Alright. I just needed that for my records."

Love Heart was waiting outside and he escorted the two newcomers to the Hall of Hearts.

"This place is far more colorful than I could ever have anticipated," Eagle said as he walked across the clouds and the roads.

"It's like something out of the cartoons I used to watch as a child," Maurice smiled.

"Well it's going to be your home for the foreseeable future," Love Heart said. "That man who attacked you is named Mental Heart and he's hunting the rest of our kind."

"I am curious: how did you reach us to rescue us in time?" Eagle asked.

"That would be Futureheart Bear." Love Heart paused in his speech but decided to be truthful, "I know this will be hard to believe but he's from the future and he came back to prevent Mental Heart and his master, No-Heart, from destroying the world and killing all of us. He told me about the sudden disappearance of everyone in Estevan then I was able to track you two down with my tummy symbol."

Maurice stopped in his tracks, "Just a moment, eh, are you serious?"

Love Heart turned around to face the two middle-aged friends, "Yes, I am. I know it's a lot to believe but," Love Heart held up his hand and conjured a small tangle of electricity, "Magic is real, psychics are real, we are real, I know time travel is far fetched but if you can believe in this place and my magic then you can believe in time travel."

Eagle clacked his beak then turned to Maurice, "He does have a point."

"He does," Maurice nodded, "So now what eh? I still need to go pick up my possessions from Regina."

"Me too. We send them ahead of us to be picked up today," Eagle said.

"Alright. I can assign you an escort once we get your tummy symbols and Care Bear names." Love Heart turned to lead them to the Hall of Hearts.

"Just hold on, eh, why are you being so aggressive? You're not being very friendly." Maurice said.

Love Heart stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath before he turned around, "I'm sorry, I'm just under a lot of stress right now." Love Heart released what looked like a ton of tension as his tummy symbol began to glow red, "I'm the only one who can track Care Bears without tummy symbols on Earth, I just adopted a new son and all of this apocalypse stuff is starting to get to me. I just want to keep everyone safe," Love Heart took in a deep shuddering breath then calmed down and smiled, "Each of us picks a name that represents who we are and we get a tummy symbol that represents that."

"I see," Eagle thought for a moment then turned his fierce eyes to Love Heart, "Then I think I shall be Soaring Heart Eagle."

Maurice smiled, "I believe the best name for me is Mounty Heart Moose."

Love Heart sighed in relief then pointed to the Hall of Hearts, "Go meet Brave Heart in the Hall of Hearts, he can give you your tummy symbols. I'll call Defender Bear and Truth Bear to escort you down to get your possessions. I think I need to go home."

"Very well, thank you," Soaring Heart bowed then turned and walked with Mounty Heart towards the Hall of Hearts.

OoOoO

Independent Bear finally worked up the courage to talk to Take Care as he headed for her hospital with a smile on his face. He spotted Love Heart leading the moose and eagle towards the Hall of Hearts but continued on his path, knowing that Take Care would be able to tell him anything he needed to know.

Take Care was still seated at her desk, finishing the files on the two new arrivals, when Indy knocked on her door.

"Come in," She said, not looking up.

Indy stepped in with a smile on his face, "Hi, Take Care." He saw the serious look on her face, "What's wrong?"

Take Care looked up, "Nothing's _wrong_ Indy, just confusing…" She motioned for him to come over. "I just finished giving our newest arrivals their introductory check-ups."

"You mean the moose and eagle?"

Take Care nodded, "And I just found out, they're both 55 years old."

"Is that a problem?" Indy narrowed one eye in confusion.

Take Care looked up into Indy's confused expression. Remembering that he had grown up on Earth she decided to give him a quick rundown. "Noble Heart was born in 1981 and from what he's told me he was transformed from a normal horse into a Care Bear Cousin the night he was born; from what little we know about the catalyst crystal that created us we know that he, True Heart, Grams Bear, Sage Heart and Life Heart were all transformed on the same night."

"Wait… so they're only 38 years old?" Indy folded his arms as he processed the information, "And Grams is… at least 56?"

"Actually, Grams is only about 44, she was a normal bear for a few years before she had True Heart and Life Heart is… well according to her she's older than human civilization but she's only been a Care Bear Cousin for 38 years. Being a grandmother just made Grams feel older so she subconsciously aged to senior age, combined with how fast everyone aged in their first year," Take Care put a hand to her forehead, the mechanics of Care Bear aging were becoming a massive headache to keep track of. "But back on topic: Maurice and Eagle, yes that was his name," she rolled her eyes, "Said they were born in 1964, 17 years before any of that."

"They're older than the Care Bear Family?" Indy's eyes went wide as he processed this new information.

"Yes and right now I don't know what that means, or why the Great Wishing Star would have created Care Bears before us," Take Care folded her arms and glared at the floor, trying to sort it out in her head.

Indy was also processing what had been said but he could see that Take Care was close to agonising over what that meant. "Take Care, want to go for a walk?"

"What?" Take Care looked up at Indy.

"You're stressed and you can't do anything about this right now and you don't have anyone to look after. Let's go out and clear your head," he offered a hand to her.

Take Care couldn't help but smile and took his hand as she stood up, "Maybe it will make more sense if I stop thinking about it for a while."

Indy smiled as they headed out the door.

Take Care was immediately relieved as she stepped outside. Normally pulling her out of the office for any reason other than going to read in their secret spot was close to impossible, but at the moment she didn't need to think about the possibly disturbing revelations the arrival of the two new family members could mean. She and Indy headed into the forest, both of them preferring the shaded paths and colorful trees to the open sky and quasi-urban environment of Care-a-Lot.

Autumn in the Forest of Feelings was a pleasant time for both of them. Normally the trees were a garish mix of bright and pastel colors (Bright Heart had discovered this was a magical effect that changed the color of the chlorophyll in the plants) but in autumn the leaves reverted to the more natural yellows, reds and oranges they would be on earth, something that suited Indy and Take Care just fine.

"All the girls are going to a baby shower in Paradise Valley later," Indy said as he looked up at the trees.

Take Care shuddered, "That's the last place I want to be…for number of reasons…" Take Care shook her head and changed the subject, "Bright Heart told me Slippy finally helped him make the Rainbow Rescue Beam work properly," Take Care couldn't help but chuckle, "That's been a pet project of his for years, I'm just happy he finally got it working."

"Really?" Indy turned to look at her, "Futureheart says they don't have anything like that, teleportation technology I mean. I didn't think we had anything Star Fox didn't have…" he paused for a moment, considering if what he said made sense.

Take Care laughed, "Well, looks like the space animals aren't completely beyond us," she turned to look at Indy, "I took a look at their sickbay, if anything we might have a slight lead on them, especially since I helped them build that nanite healing chamber. Slippy said his girl back home was working on cybernetics to replace lost limbs but he didn't say much else."

Indy nodded and took a deep breath, nerving himself up to finally tell her how he felt. Take Care didn't notice as much, just seeing Indy taking in the smells of the changing trees around them.

High up above the pair, Shrieky stood in a too small for her passenger car attached to a flying bicycle that Beastly was furiously pedaling to keep in the air. Shrieky stared into her magic mirror, now mounted on top of a meter-and-a-half-long staff, which showed her a picture of the two below.

"Look at that Beastly! Two lovey-dovey Care Bears on a romantic walk through the forest," she made a retching noise, "Yeach! It makes me sick! I have to ruin their day! But how?"

"Why don't you make it rain on them, or storm?" Beastly asked.

"Quiet, furball, that's a stupid idea!" Shrieky shouted at him then turned back to look at her mirror. "Wait! I have a brilliant idea: what if I make it rain on them, or storm!"

Beastly used to protest Shrieky's blatant theft of his ideas after ignoring him, but after a decade under her thumb even he was tired of the back and forth where he asked her why she took his idea then meekly accepted her ego while grumbling about how _he_ never had a good idea.

Shrieky held up her staff and spoke her spell, "Magic mirror, ruin their day! Make it storm and blow them away!"

Indy was just about to say his piece when they both heard the sound of thunder overhead. Take Care looked up as the dark clouds piled up overhead. "Oh great, just what we need." She glared then lowered her gaze, "Let's get back before it starts pouring." They turned and began to speed walk back towards the hospital, then there was a crack of lightning and they heard the rain start to fall.

Take Care was about to break into a run when Indy spoke up, "Take Care, wait."

She turned to look at him as the rain suddenly started pouring, but Take Care wasn't instantly soaked. She could see the rain, hear it, smell it all around her but she wasn't wet. Indy was holding his left hand out, palm upwards, and he pointed with his right hand towards the sky. Take Care looked up and saw the rain stopping in mid air above them. The raindrops burst on an invisible barrier directly above them, the splatters forming a clear dome shape as they struck whatever was stopping them from getting soaked.

Indy smiled, "Psionic shield, or umbrella I guess. We can take our time, if we want."

Take Care smiled as Indy walked up alongside her, then fell in step alongside him as they strolled casually back towards the hospital. "Thank you." She looked up as they walked, "A very creative yet practical way to use your powers."

Indy blushed, but thankfully Take Care didn't notice, "I like the rain, it's soothing and it clears the air. Not as bad up here but on earth it gets all the dust and smoke out of the city air."

"I don't hate it, but I prefer it when it's clear," Take Care didn't mind that her feet were getting wet as they walked back through the forest. Neither of them were concerned even when lightning flashed and thunder boomed overhead.

Shrieky was dancing with rage in the sidecar, forcing Beastly to jerk the steering bar to keep them stable, "How are they enjoying this! They should be sad, or torn apart or running!" She ground her teeth, "Beastly! Take me back to the castle!"

"R-right away!" He turned and drove the machine back to the otherwise empty castle.

Take Care opened the front door of her house and stepped in, wiping her feet on the doormat as Indy followed, shutting off the psionic umbrella once he was inside.

"That went well," Take Care was smiling when she turned back to Indy, who just stood at the front door, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Is something wrong, Indy?" Take Care's voice carried a hint of concern.

Indy looked into her eyes, feeling his courage about to desert him. He took a deep breath and finally spoke. "I love you."

Take Care took a step back, "What?"

"I love you Take Care Bear." Indy took another deep breath and continued, "You have everyone's respect, you help look after everyone and you're always in control even when things go crazy, even when you're looking after your daughters. I've seen you go through days that would break anyone else and always pull through for your friends and family." He was smiling now. "You're a wonderful person and I love you."

Take Care just stared at her closest friend as he poured his heart out to her. Silence hung in the air but Indy made no attempt to advance or even offer a hand to her, waiting with baited breath for her answer.

"Really? You really mean that?"

Indy was still smiling, "Yes."

Take Care needed a minute to process what she heard, "Indy, you're my closest friend and I feel I can be more honest with you than anyone else. I've been thinking about our relationship and I have strong feelings for you too, I enjoy spending time with you and everything you've done for me in the past. I also got a message from my future self that said maybe I felt the same way about you but she didn't know either. I'm not saying yes but I'm not saying no either, I'm saying let's see where this goes… but I need time to figure out how I feel and… with everything else going on and all my responsibilities I don't think I can handle this kind of revelation right now, or be putting my own needs first."

"Get Well's a doctor now too. I know this is a first for you, for me too," Indy's smile faded, "I want to see where this goes."

"Get Well's still new at this," Take Care averted her gaze, "and I need some time to think about this."

Indy felt his chest seize up but nodded, "OK." He turned and immediately left, not bothering to put up the psionic umbrella as he trudged home.

It didn't matter to Indy that he was getting soaked through as he walked home, he almost felt like his heart had been ripped out. Granted she hadn't said no, she'd even said she wasn't saying no and that she had strong feelings for him too but still, not having her say she loved him back right away still hurt, a lot. He finally got home and used a burst of psionic energy to force the water off his body, then went to make some pre-packaged ramen. He needed some comfort food.

OoOoO

Take Care just sat in her armchair in the living room, trying to read a book. She didn't even check which one it was before she just opened it and started to read, trying to get Indy's confession off her mind.

"Damn, listen to that rain." Get Well Bear whistled as she entered the room. She saw Take Care and could instantly tell she wasn't actually reading the book in her hand, "Mom, is something wrong?"

Take Care finally gave up on trying to read and shut the book. There must have been some shock to her system because she didn't even try to hide what had happened, "Indy said he loved me."

"What? Really?" Get Well stared at Take Care.

"Yes."

"What's going on?" Cautious Heart Cat entered the living room as well.

"Indy said he's in love with mom," Get Well said.

Cautious Heart stared at Get Well, then to Take Care, "He did?"

"Yes, he did," Take Care put the book aside.

"So what did you tell him?" Get Well sat on the couch and gave her mom an eager look.

"I told him I had strong feelings for him, but I wanted to see where things went before I told him anything else." Take Care took a deep breath and looked at Get Well, who was grinning, "What?"

"You love him," Get Well said flatly.

"What?!" Take Care was taken aback by her daughter's direct statement.

"Get Well, are you sure about this, I mean how do you know how she feels?" Cautious Heart looked from her mother to her big sister.

"I can tell," Get Well stood up, "At university I saw a lot of young couples and people hooking up, I know how people behave when they're in love or even when they're uncertain."

Take Care shook her head, "I don't know and I can't just drop everything to pursue a pipe dream romance when I have to get you trained and be ready for any emergencies."

"Mom!" Get Well's shout made her jump and Take Care was about to shoot back when Get Well started talking again, "Stop being selfless and think about yourself for once." The strange reversal of the child's lesson stunned Take Care enough for Get Well to continue, "You've been looking after the Care Bear Family almost your entire life, the Cousins as a babysitter, then everyone as a doctor then me and Cautious as a mother but you never take any time for yourself except when you're reading. Because you didn't reject him outright I think you feel the same way so stop hiding behind your responsibilities to avoid the subject and just let yourself feel happy about this."

Take Care and Cautious just stared at Get Well for a moment before she finally spoke. "Get Well, even if I do feel the same way I'm not going to run off through the rain to tell him right this minute. I need time to process this, even if I think of myself this isn't something I'm going to just dive into without thinking."

Get Well smirked, "That's fine, just don't reject him outright until you know, OK?" She left before anyone else could say anything.

Cautious looked at her mother, "That was… a lot from her."

While Get Well had been talking, Take Care's thoughts had drifted back to the future message she had received from herself before she answered, "Yeah, but maybe she has a point," Take Care sighed, "I kinda miss when she just looked up to me."

"We still do," Cautious Heart walked over to her and put a hand on Take Care's shoulder, "That's why we can be so honest with you."

OoOoO

Love Heart started to run as the rain fell around him, just barely making it home as the downpour started. He swiped his forehead and spotted Shimmers sitting backwards on the couch, watching the rain fall.

"Hi Shimmers, waiting for me?" Love Heart walked over and sat down next to him.

Shimmers grinned and jumped on his father's lap. "Momma said you'd be home soon," he nuzzled his nose against Love Heart's.

"Good thing too, I gotta get going," Confidence Heart headed for the door, dressed in a yellow raincoat with her ears pressed down under a large floppy rain hat.

"Where are you going momma?" Shimmers turned his head, still seated on Love Heart's lap.

"Gotta be a bodyguard for the baby shower, no sense taking chances," she gave Shimmers a kiss on the forehead. "Be a good boy for daddy," she ducked outside and headed for the Hall of Hearts.

"Guess it's just you and me, Shimmers," Love Heart ruffled his son's head. Miracle Heart was still at school and wouldn't be home for a few hours. "So what do you want to do?"

Shimmers didn't reply, just hugging Love Heart and he smiled then hugged back.

A moment later there was a knock at the door, which opened as Life Heart Unicorn, Sage Heart Bear and their ten-year old twins Meek Heart Unicorn and Wild Heart Unicorn all burst in, all wearing the same raincoats Confidence had been wearing.

"Oof, didn't think we'd get a storm like that," Sage Heart helped his children undress from their raincoats, that he hung up on the coat rack before he took his own off.

"That was fun!" Wild Heart grinned and shook her head, sending some water from her long purple mane outwards. Her fur was Orange and her tummy symbol was a heart with a lightning bolt through it

Meek Heart held up a hand, his horn glowing as the water droplets bounced harmlessly off an invisible barrier between them, before running his hand through his short-trimmed orange mane, "Please don't do that." His fur was purple and his tummy symbol was a heart resting on a cloud.

Wild Heart stuck her tongue out at her brother, then turned to Love Heart and Shimmers. "Hey, big brother, is he our new nephew?"

"Yup!" Love Heart lifted Shimmers down in front of the two unicorns, Wild Heart with a huge grin on her face and Meek Heart with a gentler smile on his.

"You remember us right?" Life Heart stepped up behind her children, with Sage Heart alongside her.

Shimmer grinned, "Grandma, Grandpa."

"And these are our youngest children," Sage Heart gestured to the two young unicorns in front of him.

"I'm Wild Heart and the killjoy is my brother, Meek Heart," Wild Heart pointed to herself and her brother with each hand.

"I'm not a killjoy just because I don't rush into things without thinking." Meek Heart replied.

"Whatever," Wild Heart waved him off, "Wanna play with your aunt and uncle, Shimmers?"

Shimmers looked back up at Love Heart, who just nodded, "Grandma and I have to talk for a minute, just don't be too rough, Wild."

"Don't worry, big brother, I got this." Wild Heart took Shimmers' hand and all but dragged him towards his bedroom.

"I'll keep him safe," Meek promised before he followed them.

Sage Heart, Life Heart and Love Heart all sat down on the couch, Love Heart heaving a sigh of relief and smiling after the three, "It's nice to see kids just being kids."

"Yes, it is, so let's get the business out of the way first," Sage Heart said.

"I scanned Shimmering Star when you brought him to me last week. He does have a great deal of magical potential, separate from the Unicorn genetics he inherited from you, but it's largely undirected at the moment and forming a pool of potential power inside of him."

"Should I be worried, mom?" Love Heart visibly tensed.

"Not at all, as long as you train him his powers should grow and come out naturally. But he might manifest powers none of us have seen before," Life Heart smiled, "He's going to be an amazing person when he grows up."

"As long as he doesn't find out about his past," Love Heart mumbled.

"He won't," Sage Heart assured him, "and we'll make sure he has a happy life this time around."

"EEEHAAHAAHAHAHAA!" Shimmer's laughter suddenly rent the air and Love Heart was on his feet in an instant and dashing to his son's bedroom. He found Shimmers lying on bed, orange and purple shackles of magical energy holding him down as Meek Heart and Wild Heart tickled the young bear under his arms and on his feet.

"What are you two doing?" Love Heart didn't raise his voice but his sudden voice made his twin siblings turn towards him.

Meek Heart blushed and got off the bed, "She convinced me to try this, I'm sorry."

"Aw com'on you had fun!" Wild Heart grinned and elbowed her brother as she turned back to Shimmers, who was still smiling while being held down.

Love Heart rolled his eyes and smiled, "Meek, you can go back to mom and dad, I'll handle this."

Meek Heart just nodded and retreated from the room. Love Heart turned back to his youngest sister and his son, "now then, where were you? About here?" Love Heart started tickling Shimmers' paw pads, which set him up laughing again.

OoOoO

Confidence burst into the Hall of Hearts, water still clinging to her raincoat from the storm outside. She grinned and tossed her outdoor clothing into the entrance closet then sent out a small burst of wind to dry her fur before she headed to the Rainbow Rescue Beam room.

Slippy and Bright Heart were standing at either side of the Rainbow Rescue Beam platform. A large circular platform with a heart-shaped arch that was capped off by a large heart-shaped caring crystal with identical controls opposite each other from the outside.

Nearly every woman in the Kingdom of Caring was assembled and waiting for the go ahead, with six of the seven expectant mothers standing right next to the platform.

"Hey Confidence!" Sweet Heart trotted over to greet her sister-in-law, "Ready for the shower?" Sweet Heart was an adult now and stood nearly as tall as Confidence.

Confidence Heart smirked, "More than I was for the shower out there." She scanned the crowd, "Where's True Heart?"

As if in answer to her question, Confidence heard the front door of the hall open and turned around to see True Heart. The cream colored bear had been letting her hair grow out and the once short tuft of pink, purple and blue hair now reached down the sides of her head. Her own baby bump showed more prominently than the other girls as she all but skipped towards the head of the group.

"True Heart, you look so radiant!" Love-a-Lot wan up to meet her.

"I feel so light on my feet these days!" True Heart did a little twirl in place, "And you should see Noble Heart," her face flushed and she giggled and toyed with the radiant heart crystal attached around her neck, "I haven't felt this energetic since we started the Care Bear Family."

"Good for you!" Cheer gave a thumbs up then turned to Bright Heart, "How much longer is this gonna take?"

"Be patient Cheer," Gentle Heart tapped her on the shoulder, "We don't want any mistakes."

"If thisss takesss too much longer, I'm going lay my eggsss right here on the floor." Cozy had become more irritable during her pregnancy, if one could call it that. Shortly after the baby boom had started, Take Care had done a more thorough examination of Cozy Heart, as both she and Jolly belonged to species that laid eggs and the doctor's best educated guess was that even though the size of the eggs made Cozy look as pregnant as the others, she would lay both her eggs after about six weeks whereupon they would need to be incubated for about the same length of time before they hatched.

The mass baby shower had been planned to be hosted in Paradise Valley so Polite could join in as well, since they couldn't risk bringing her up to the Kingdom of Caring even temporarily.

"Alright, one coming through," Bright Heart spoke up. A moment later a beam of rainbow light lit up the huge caring crystal then shot down onto the platform.

A moment later, Perfect Panda materialized on the platform. He shook himself, "Oh my, that tingles and makes my head spin." His brief disorientation vanished as soon as he saw Proud Heart. "Proud Heart, my lady." He walked over to Proud Heart who embraced him in a hug.

"Oh Perfect," Proud Heart purred and gave him a soft kiss, "I cannot wait for you to move up here."

"It won't be much longer, next month then I will be here for you and our child." Perfect said.

"Children," Proud Heart took his hand and placed it on her baby bump. "We're having twins, Perfect."

Perfect chuckled, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Polite and Good Luck are having twins too. Must run in the family."

"So with the pandas, me, Cozy and True Heart, five of us are having twins," Cheer counted off on her fingers.

Harmony smiled, "Guess I got lucky. I'm ready for kids but I don't think I can handle twins."

"OK, the platform's ready to go," Slippy spoke up, "We can send you down in groups of six."

"Does that include the babies?" Cheer asked.

"They don't count against the number," Slippy said.

Proud Heart gave Perfect another kiss, "I'll see you later, Perfect," then they stepped onto the platform along with Cheer, Harmony, Funshine, Sweet Heart and Guidance Heart.

"Have fun," Bright Heart smiled as he started the beam, sending the six off to the valley.

OoOoO

Polite Panda and Good Luck Bear stood at the site where Perfect had vanished, Polite had her hand clasped together over her baby bump and Good Luck had a hand on her shoulder. A moment later a bright beam of rainbow energy dropped out of the sky and Cheer, Harmony, Funshine, Sweet Heart, Guidance Heart and Proud Heart materialized on the ground.

"Cheer!" Good Luck immediately ran forwards and grabbed her in a hug, "Man I missed you guys."

"I missed you too," Cheer hugged him back, "Enjoying life down here."

"I miss TV sometimes, but I stay busy enough that it doesn't matter," Good Luck let her go.

"Hello, sister-in-law," Polite had given Proud Heart a gentler hug.

"Not just yet, but soon," Proud Heart released her, "Perfect said your having twins," she patted her baby bump, "Me too."

"Well stand back," Funshine jumped aside, "There's more of us coming." She turned to Good Luck, "Sorry, Good Luck, no guys allowed at the baby shower."

"I know," Good Luck rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna head up once everyone comes down."

About ten minutes later, all the girls had come down and Good Luck had beamed up to the Kingdom of Caring.

"So where's the party?" Sweet Heart asked.

"This way," Polite gestured into the village, "Please follow me."

OoOoO

Good Luck shook himself as he stepped off the platform, "Wow that tingles."

"I felt the same way," Perfect Panda was still standing in the room, "So what are we going to do."

"Take in the sights, show you around, talk to everyone we almost never get to see." Good Luck pointed to the door.

"With the Rescue Beam fully functional now, you can visit any time you like. Just send a text to us." Bright Heart said.

"How do they keep their heartphones charged in the valley?" Slippy asked, "I thought they didn't have electricity."

"A little modification I made," Bright Heart pulled his heartphone out of his tummy symbol, "As long as you keep the heartphone in your tummy symbol it will draw power from the natural caring energy out bodies emit. It's slower than an electrical charge but since Good Luck and Polite almost never use them they pretty much never need charging."

"Wait, you're radioactive?" Slippy blinked.

"Sort of. Barely…" Bright Heart paused, "I guess you could say we have some sort of 'caring radiation' but it's localised in our tummy symbols and only comes out when we focus it into a Care Bear Stare, that's why the charge system can work that way."

"Huh, fascinating," Slippy mused.

OoOoO

Though she and Good Luck lived in a cave on the outskirts, Polite let the Care Bear girls into the village and around the grass thatched huts and toward the center of the village where there was a large fire pit, currently unlit, and a hut larger than the others. A large, cheerful elderly woman stood next to the hut's entrance and she smiled at the approaching group.

"Ahh, Polite, are these the other expectant ones?" She pointed to the assembled group.

"Not all of them, but yes." Polite motioned for the pregnant girls to step forwards, indicating each one as she spoke. "Love-a-Lot Bear, Gentle Heart Lamb, and Harmony Bear are each having one child and Cheer Bear, Proud Heart Cat, Cozy Heart Penguin and True Heart Bear are having twins like me."

"I can see the life in them," the woman spoke in an old yet good natured voice as she touched each of the expectant mother's bellies, easily towering over the Care Bears. She stopped in front of Proud Heart, "Ahh, I know you. Perfect speaks of you often."

Proud Heart blushed, "Oh, thank you. What does he say."

"He speaks in nothing but flattering terms. I can see why." The woman beamed down at Proud Heart.

While the conversation was going on, Confidence Heart, Guidance Heart and Sweet Heart took out the translation necklaces they always carried and slipped them on, now relieved that they could understand what the woman was saying.

"Everyone, this is Tantamallama," Polite introduced the woman.

"Please, you may call me Big Mama Tantan. All the family that is the village refers to me as this and you, as my new family, are no different." She looked up at the group then motioned inside her hut, "Let's begin, my lucky ones."

"So what do you have planned?" Cheer asked.

Polite smiled, "Let me show you."

"When did you stop rhyming?" Gentle Heart asked.

Polite walked around the fire pit to where a collection of pots and brushes stood, "A few years ago. I think it was just something Perfect and I did out of co-dependency but when Good Luck moved down here we just started to separate and one day the compulsion to rhyme and finish each other's sentences was gone." She picked up one of the pots and dipped a brush into the contents and turned to Proud Heart, "here," she pulled the brush out which had blue color on it.

Proud Heart hesitated for a moment bur Polite just smiled, "It's just plant dye, it might stick for a few days but it's harmless." Once Proud Heart relaxed, Polite painted a blue line down between her eyes and to the tip of her nose. Polite smiled, "When I told Big Mama Tantan about this she organized a new life festival. First step is to adorn the expectant mothers." She turned to the rest of the group, "Go ahead, join in."

The other girls all but swarmed the pots, Guidance Heart picked up a pot with orange dye in it and turned to Polite, "What should I paint?"

"Anything you want. The village paints their own symbols but you should paint whatever you want. Start with my eyes." Polite closed her eyes. Guidance pulled the brush out and carefully pained an orange heart over the black fur of each of her eyes.

OoOoO

Good Luck slurped down the bowl of noodles that had been served for lunch and sighed happily, "I love the food in Paradise Valley, but I still missed this stuff." He turned to Perfect who was eating more slowly, "Enjoying yourself?"

"I am, but I'm just thinking," he took another mouthful and swallowed, "Maybe too much."

"About what?" Good Luck leaned sideways on the table.

"Where I'm going to live."

Good Luck's eyes widened, "What? I thought you ad Proud agreed to live in the Kingdom of Caring."

Perfect nodded, "We did but it's a big step and I love the valley, the people there and the wildlife and plant life." He sighed, "Life there isn't always easy. The land is always pleasant because of me and my sister but we still have to work hard to feed the people and keep the village running smoothly," he smiled, "every year we find satisfaction in providing for everyone and making sure we will live on to the next season. Up here survival is a given and there are other challenges."

"Like learning the Care Bear Stare," Good Luck chuckled.

Perfect winced, then chuckled back, "Yes, like that, and I know that if I move up here I'll be expected to take on Care Bear duties, helping children around the world, that and looking after my children. I don't know if I can handle that change."

"Huh," Good Luck took a drink of water, "I know what you mean. I spent years trying to decide if I wanted to move to the valley to be with Polite." He smiled, "But I know I made the right decision, I'm happy there."

Perfect nodded, "And I'll always be thankful for her sake, brother-in-law, but with my situation I don't have a solid wall in my way. I could live here or down there with little to no serious impact on the valley. With you and Polite living there and your twin children soon there will be more than enough love to keep Paradise Valley going as it always has. I don't want to force Proud Heart to live down there but at the same time I don't know if I can live up here again."

"If it helps, we all have our own homes now. No more sleeping with a ton of other Care Bears in the Hall of Hearts," Good Luck joked.

Perfect nodded, "That does help." He returned to his meal then set the bowl aside. "As long as I'm here, I want to see more of the Kingdom of Caring again."

"Then let me show you around!" The sudden voice nearly made Perfect and Good Luck jump out of their seats as a roadrunner wearing a bandoleer of coffee shots came to a stop next to their table. "Hi, I'm Zippy Heart Roadrunner. I don't think we've met."

"I'm Perfect Panda," Perfect offered his hand to the roadrunner, "I might be moving here soon."

"Great! Follow me and I'll show you around!" Zippy pointed to the doorway then sped off to wait for them at the door.

Good Luck shrugged, "Might as well get the tour." He and Perfect stood up and followed Zippy.

OoOoO

The sun was setting as the big fire was lit in Paradise valley, more wood being piled on as all eight expectant mothers, painted up in multiple colors with hearts and stars over all their bodies, sat right next to the fire. Food was served which all of them dug into voraciously.

Proud Heart leaned back, blue lines painted down her brow, wavy green lines on her cheeks, yellow hearts on her arms and several red flowers painted around her tummy symbol on her baby bump. "This was nice, thank you for inviting us."

"No problem." Polite smiled. In addition to the orange hearts over her eyes, Polite had yellow stars all over her white fur and bright blue spirals up and down her arms and legs. "I'm just happy you all enjoyed the day here."

"I did." Proud Heart stared up at the darkening sky, "Makes me wonder if I should be living down here." Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to listen to the two soon-to-be sister-in-laws.

Polite's gave Proud Heart a surprised look, "I thought you already decided on living in the Kingdom of Caring."

"We did, but after seeing this place again and how friendly everyone is I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice." Proud Heart leaned forwards. She tried to bring her knees up but they wouldn't go up all the way so she just rested her hands on the top of her knee. "I don't want to force Perfect to stop living here."

"You're not forcing him. He's talked about this a lot since you two became engaged and he's ready to do it." Polite touched Proud Heart's shoulder.

"Are you really thinking about moving down here, Proud?" Cheer scooted closer to Proud Heart. Cheer had bright rainbows painted all over her body with white hearts at the ends on her shoulders, hips, feet and hands and a bright yellow sun painted around her tummy symbol.

"Maybe…I mean I don't know if I could choose now." Proud Heart stared into the dancing flames.

"That is a big decision." Proud Heart looked up to see Big Mama Tantan standing over her. "I would be sad to see Perfect leave us but he seems certain about wanting to try living up there again." She smiled, "But if you change your mind I would be happy to help you live down here with us, Proud Heart."

Proud Heart smiled, "Thank you, Big Mama Tantan. I need to think about it more."

"Think later," Big Mama Tantan clapped Proud Heart on the shoulder with a strength that belied her age, "Tonight you celebrate the new life growing inside you!"

Proud Heart nodded and reached for more food and began to dig in again.


	11. From Prison to Oasis

A/N: Aqua, Zoey/Lonesome, Redemptionheart, Illyana and her mercenaries all belong to EternalDragonsTear/Aqua Bear/Lonesomeheart/Shimmeringstar, as do many of the plot points which are taken from his story "The Very Beginning" and used with his permission.

Chapter 11: From Prison to Oasis

Many years ago, in Alaska, two unusual bear cubs were born, or perhaps they became unusual after they were born, the distinction isn't important. They were a blue bear named Aqua and a pink bear named Zoey. One day, after getting lost, Zoey came across Aqua Bear and he helped her find her way back to her parents. Finding another like herself brought Zoey no end of joy and they quickly became friends.

Unfortunately, there were those that sought out their kind. Not for death, not for salvation, but for money.

Near the base of the plateau where the bears lived, two men were watching them through binoculars: A tall skinny man with black teeth named Vinny and a shorter fat man named Big Joe.

Vinny adjusted the binoculars as he watched the pink and blue cubs playing together. "Hot damn, you are not gonna believe this! Joe, take a look," Vinny passed the binoculars to Big Joe, who was in the midst of shoving a chili dog into his mouth.

"Mmm, what?" Big Joe gulped down the last of his food as he put the binoculars to his eyes. "Whoa mamma! They've gotta be worth three times our usual fee." He fumbled for his cell phone then handed the binoculars back to Vinny as he dialed the number.

Thousands of kilometers away, in a dimly lit office, a phone buzzed.

"Miss Illyana, you have another call on line three."

"Put it through." Illyana tapped her lit cigarette into the fish tank next to her chair.

"Hey boss, urp excuse me, we found a couple of rare beasties to add to your collection," Joe belched off to the side before he continued, "We'll have to delay the shipment a day to get them though."

Illyana thought for a moment before she replied, "Very well, but don't disappoint me. The deadline is one week from today. If the shipment isn't in port by then then you and Vinny will be dead men." She dropped the call and sat back in annoyance.

Joe closed the phone and turned to Vinny, "Alright, we gotta get the mercs and get this done fast."

"I heard," despite the cold Vinny was sweating as they turned to head back to their ship.

The next day, Vinny and Joe had boarded their cargo ship which was floating up the Alaskan coast with half a dozen mercenaries on the deck, all of whom were wearing white body armor, orange tinted ski goggles and scarves; they were armed with custom assault rifles and dart guns and a net apiece.

Vinny was scanning the plateau again as he spotted the two cubs playing, "Alright there they are," he pointed up.

The mercenaries' leader squinted through his goggles, then removed them for a moment, squinting against the bright sunlight, "you mean that blue and pink speck up there?"

"Yes, that's them," Vinny passed him the binoculars.

The mercenary leader turned the binoculars to the side, "Looks like their parents are with them."

"Doesn't matter, just get the cubs alive," Joe crammed a burger into his mouth and chewed noisily. "Kill the parents."

The nearest mercenary gave a disgusted glare from behind his scarf and goggles then turned his leader, who had just snapped his goggles back into place. "Alright, people, this is a quick grab operation. Don't mess this up or we'll miss Illyana's deadline." They all tensed at the mention of their employer's name then disembarked and began to ascend towards the plateau.

"Gotcha!" Zoey dove on top of Aqua as he scrambled to stand up and managed to pin him to the snow.

"Ahh! I give! I give!" Aqua squirmed under Zoey's grip.

"Not yet you don't!" Zoey tickled Aqua under his arms which made him start giggling.

"Heeheeeheehee, I give! Heeheeheehee Stop!" Aqua squirmed under Zoey's strength as she sat on his belly.

"Alright," Zoey stopped and leaned over, her rather long hair cascading forwards around her face. "I love you." She whispered.

Aqua blushed as he stared up at her, "I love you too." They kissed.

Their moment was interrupted by a roar from where their parents were. Zoey jumped up and saw white shapes moving near their parents. "MOM! DAD!" She shouted and tore off towards their parents. A moment later, Aqua was on his feet and running after her.

The mercenaries were smart and efficient, as soon as they had a bead on the four fully grown polar bears they began firing bursts of bullets into them. Their thick hides and muscles took the first few barrages as they charged and roared at the armored men. Eventually it proved too much and the bears slumped down as their blood stained the snow. Zoey's mother kept pushing forwards until she finally slumped down.

One of the mercs stepped forwards and checked the bodies. "Hey, one of the boars is still alive."

The leader was scanning the plateau, "Then finish him off, don't take any chances." His subordinate nodded and fired several rounds into the bear's skull.

"MOM! DAD!" The mercs all turned to see the pink bear running closer and closer.

"Darts only, we need them alive!" The merc leader flipped the safety on his assault rifle and slung it back before quick drawing the loaded dart pistol. As soon as he had a line up, he fired on Zoey.

Zoey was too distracted by tears of hot rage and sorrow to notice the shot as the tranquilizer dart stuck in her left shoulder but her adrenaline kept her going. She jumped on the mercenary leader, her unexpected strength knocking him to the ground.

"Get her off me!" The leader shouted. Zoey tried to bite through his armor but only hurt her teeth as she did so.

"Zoey! Mom! Dad!" Aqua came running up only to be shot in the leg by another dart from another merc. He fell down, holding his leg as he tried to pull the dart out.

Two of the mercs finally pulled Zoey off their leader and dumped her in a net where she continued to thrash around until the tranquilizer finally took effect and she slumped down motionless in the net. Aqua was quickly bundled unto the net by two others before he could retaliate, especially when he saw the bodies of his parents and went into shock, the tranquilizer putting him under as they were hauled down to the ship.

Vinny and Big Joe watched as the company of mercs returned to the ship, the pink and blue cubs in nets with them.

"Yeesh they're small," Big Joe stared at the nets then sucked down a drink from a bottle.

"Stick them in the hold," Vinny pointed down to the cargo bay, "We have to get moving now or Illyana will have our heads."

"Maybe yours," the mercenary leader muttered behind his scarf as he led the two men carrying the cubs down to the hold. The hold was packed with large boxes and cages. Most containing live animals, some of which had been sedated and all of which were quiet as the armed men passed through with their new prizes.

"Why do they get to call the shots?" One of the mercenaries asked as the leader directed them to two cages by a porthole.

"Because they need to captain the ship, they look stupid and innocent enough and they can drive the ship without us getting stopped." He watched as his men dumped the bears into caged, Aqua on top and Zoey in one below him, "And if they get caught we can sneak off and let them take the fall. We're all expendable but those two are more expendable than us."

Cages locked, the mercenaries retired to their room, hidden below the cargo hold, as the ship pulled out to sea.

OoOoO

The moonlight through the open porthole and the sounds of the ocean woke Aqua from his tranquilized slumber. He mumbled, "Mom, dad?" then he looked down, "Zoey!" He rattled the cage.

"Huh what?" Zoey shook her head and tried to stand up, only to bang her head on the top of the cage "Ow!" She sat down hard and rubbed the top of her head. "Where are we?"

Aqua looked around, "In cages, on a ship."

Zoey glared at the side of her cage, "I'll get us out." She slammed her shoulder against the cage door, but only succeeded in moving the cage a couple centimeters across the floor. That didn't stop her and Zoey kept ramming the cage door, rattling it but failing to open it. Aqua hung on to the bars of his cage until Zoey had pushed the cages up against a stack of crates in front of them. "Grrr! Open!" She smashed the door one more time then sat down.

Tears sprang to the pink bear's eyes, "Mom… dad…" she started to bawl.

"Zoey…" Aqua teared up as well and tried to reach down to her, his arms fitting in between the cage bars.

Zoey looked up at him and grabbed his hand through the bars. "Aqua, what are we gonna do?"

Aqua rubbed his eyes, "I don't know." Zoey let go of his hand and resumed crying into her palms. Aqua turned to look out the porthole, Zoey's ramming had pushed his cage right up next to it.

Aqua stared out the porthole up at the nearly full moon, then he heard splashes and a strange whining and clicking noise from the waved below. Aqua looked down and, by the light of the moon, saw a pod of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the ship. Aqua stared at them as they drew closer to the ship and reached out towards them, "I want to be free like you."

As if in response to him, one of the dolphins leapt up high enough to brush its back along Aqua's hand. "Can you hear me?" he strained to look down next to the ship even with the cage in his way as a dolphin jumped up level with the porthole. Time seemed to freeze as Aqua watched the marine mammal seemed to lock its eye with him, then splashed down again.

Aqua pulled himself closer and shouted, "Please! Help us please!" He rattled his cage bars. The pod of dolphins drew closer as Aqua reached out again, two more dolphins brushing his hand as he heard a voice.

"Call us when you are near the sea again." Then the pod began to swim off.

Zoey had cried herself back to sleep so Aqua pulled himself back inside his cage and did his best to lay down on the bars and sleep.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Every day Big Joe would come down and give them some food and water and every time Zoey would try to get at him, or at least at his own food he brought with him without success. Aqua watched for the dolphins every night, and the showed up twice one, two days later and two more days after that, each time leaving him the message: "Call us when you are near the sea again."

The day after the last visit from the dolphins, Aqua and Zoey were sedated again and tarps were thrown over their cages. Aqua managed to resist long enough to feel them dropped in a truck, along with most of the other contents of the ship, before he passed out again.

While laborers unloaded the more mundane cargo, Vinny and Big Joe carried their prizes up to Illyana's penthouse office.

The two mercenary guards at her office, wearing black armor, glared from behind their bulletproof faceplates, "What business do you have here?"

Big Joe was nervous, wishing he had something to eat to calm his nerves, but Vinny just held up his cage, "We have two exotic animals for the boss."

The merc looked at the cages, then turned and buzzed the office.

"What is it?" a shrill, high-pitched voice came through the speaker.

"The idiots brought their special prizes for your approval."

"Hey, we're not idiots!" Big Joe shouted.

The merc ignored him, and had let go of the talk button, as he waited for the answer. "Send them in, but they'd better not be wasting my time."

"Alright, you're clear," the mercs turned back to face them as the doors buzzed open.

Illyana sat at her desk in the dimly lit room as the fat and skinny pair walked up to her desk. She held up a hand as they approached the front of her giant desk and stubbed out her cigarette in the glass ashtray on her desk, "This better be worth my time."

"Oh trust me, it is," Vinny put Aqua's cage on the desk and Big Joe did likewise.

"Be careful, you idiots! I just bought this desk," Illyana shouted, "Even with this lucrative operation I can't just drop a fortune a new desk every week." She squinted at the two cage occupants then pressed a button on the desk that turned up the light.

Aqua and Zoey squinted for a moment against the sudden bright light then found themselves face-to-face with Illyana. She was a woman in her mid-thirties wearing an expensive white mink fur coat over a black business suit with a long cigarette in her mouth that she was in the middle of lighting. She was thin, practically bony, with a narrow head with an inordinate number of wrinkles and almost yellowish skin due to her smoking habit, that she did her best to cover up with as much black mascara, red lipstick and white powder as she could. She hunched over the desk and examined the two colorful bears.

Aqua shrank away from Illyana, the woman's ghastly appearance making her look like some skeletal demon. Zoey wasn't to be cowed and immediately grabbed the bars of her cage and shouted, "Let us out of here you monster!"

"So you _can _talk," Illyana gave a rare smile.

"Alright, they can talk, that means a bigger payday," Big Joe blurted out.

Illyana sat back and gave a contemptuous stare to the pair. "No, you just found that out now, and these two aren't even unique. Be grateful that they are rare enough to merit a small bonus, double your usual fee but just for these two and nothing else."

"What?!" Vinny smacked the desk with his hand, "We risked being late to get these two rare beasties to you."

"Let us go!" Zoey demanded.

"I wanna go home!" Aqua was starting to cry.

"Shut up!" Vinnie snapped at the two cubs, "We got them on time and we've never had a score like this, you said triple for any rare beasties so-" He didn't get any farther as Illyana pushed a button on her desk and Vinny vanished down a trapdoor that opened under his feet. A moment later there was a splash of water followed by screams of agony and the snapping of teeth as the door closed.

"Now then, Joe, I don't believe you share your partner's sentiment and you'll take just the smaller bonus I offered?" Illyana's eyes oozed menace, her hand over the controls. Big Joe just nodded, too scared to speak. "Good, then leave and get back to work. I'll get you a new partner tomorrow so use that bonus to go buy some jerky or whatever you consider a treat. Go."

Big Joe didn't need a second warning and he turned and waddled out as fast as he could. Illyana averted her eyes from the disgusting spectacle until he was gone, then turned back to the cages on her desk, "Now then, I know just where to put you."

Even Zoey was stunned into silence at the sudden execution of Vinny as Illyana pushed the intercom. "Send two men up here to escort my new acquisitions down to the exhibit. I want them with the other two 'special' cubs for our next visitors."

A moment later, two mercenaries entered her office and carried the caged cubs to an elevator. Zoey and Aqua didn't speak until they were dumped into another large cage with a solid floor. The arms that carried them reached in and fastened metal cuffs around their ankles which then attached to the cage walls. Zoey recovered enough to try and bite at the hands but only encountered armored gloves before the cuffs were attached and she was shaken loose.

Aqua was the first on his feet and he tried to lumber over to Zoey, but the chains pulled tight. "Zoey, what are we gonna do?" he tried to pull closer to no avail.

Zoey stood up and tried to reach him, but stopped too far away, "I don't know, but I'm going to get us out of here." They both reached again but fell forwards, their hands inches apart even at maximum extension.

"I don't think you can… I couldn't."

The meek voice drew their attention to two more bears in the cage with them, each also chained to the wall too far to reach. The one who had spoken was colored dark red with a white tummy and long hair (not as long as Zoey's) and green eyes and an even darker red eight-pointed star pattern in the fur in the middle of her forehead. The other one had an odd mix of fur colors: she was mostly grey all over except for a tuft of hair on her head, tail, her hands back to the wrists and feet up just past the ankles which were ultra violet; her muzzle, which was white and her heart-shaped nose-tip, the inside of her ears and her tummy which were hot pink, topped off by her ultra-violet eyes.

"Where are we?" Zoey pushed herself back until she could sit down with the chains still holding her to the wall.

"It's a zoo," the oddly colored bear said. Her voice was stronger, but any command it might have had seemed to have been muffled by imprisonment. "My name's Redemptionheart bear and she's Lily. Who are you?"

"I'm Aqua." Aqua also crawled backwards but didn't try to sit up.

"Call me Zoey." Zoey looked around, "What's a zoo."

"A place where people come to stare at you, and you only get to eat when no one's around," Lily stared down at the floor. She was sitting on her knees with the legs spread out from underneath her. "Are you thirsty?" Zoey and Aqua only just then realized how little they had been given on the ride over, both nodded.

Lily looked around, checking for guards, then pulled a small tin bowl out from behind her. They watched in astonishment as Lily held her hands over the bowl and a small stream of water poured from between them, filling the bowl after only a few seconds, then pushed it gently towards them, the bowl gliding much farther and at a steadier than it should have with her push. Aqua just stared as it stopped in front of him, then bent down to drink.

"How did you do that?" Zoey almost shouted, but something told her to keep her voice down.

Once Aqua stopped drinking, Lily made a small motion with her hand and the bowl slid over to Zoey. "It's magic, not very strong but it helps." She gave a weak smile as Zoey began to drink. "I have to be careful, if they saw me using it…" her voice trailed off.

"Thank you," Zoey finished off the water then pushed the bowl back to Lily, who caught it and stowed it behind her.

"What's the smell?" Aqua sniffed, only just now noticing the bad smell in the cage.

"We don't have a bathroom," Redemptionheart shuddered.

"What's a bathroom?" Aqua asked.

"Let's just say… your food and drink stays with you until they clean up in the morning. Don't want the guests to see our waste." Lily lay down.

"Try to get some sleep, if we're asleep when the guests show up we don't get any food," Redemption lay down. Tired from their trip and with nothing else to do for the moment, Aqua and Zoey lay down, both wishing they could sleep next to each other.

"Alright, showcases, rise and shine!" the loud voice of a mercenary was accompanied by him rattling a metal pipe along the bars of the cages he passed. Zoey, Aqua, Redemption and Lily were roused by the loud banging and at up, trying to clear their vision. The mercenary stopped by their cage and stared down at Zoey and Aqua, as Zoey glared hatred at him, "OK, I'm told you can talk so listen up. Sit up and act cute for the visitors and you _might_ get some real meat tonight, or at least some real leftovers." He snickered and left.

"I wanna tear his head off," Zoey growled.

"Don't do that!" Lily's voice became almost shrill with panic, "Just do what he says and we'll be fed."

"Why don't you escape? You have magic can't you break out?" Zoey asked.

"Shhh!" Redemption tensed for a moment, then relaxed when no one heard, "Don't let anyone know. The people are coming soon so just face that way," she pointed to the cage wall opposite from where Zoey and Aqua had been deposited inside the cage, "And look cute, not mad. We can talk after they feed us."

Zoey huffed, then turned to Aqua. "I think we should, just for now."

Zoey sighed, "OK, but if I get the chance," she swiped the air with her hand.

It wasn't too long before a tour guide came through, leading a group who clearly paid a hefty sum into the basement zoo.

"I think you'll find this a treat," the guide said. "We found these strange bears abandoned in the wilderness. Not all together but they are some of the most unusual creatures we have ever seen." He gave a fake grin, "We think they may be intelligent but so far they still act like animals."

Zoey was fuming as the guide spoke his condescending words and let out a growl right as the group moved on. She wanted to shout, to scream and rage at the people ogling her, but looking at her three cell mates gave her just enough self-control to keep her mouth shut.

It didn't get any easier to remain calm throughout the day. Some of the tours had little kids with them who would bang on the cage or rattle the bars, even try to grab at them through the gaps in the bars, only for their parents to pull them back and warn them that the bears might be dangerous. There was only a brief break in the middle of the day where there were no tours took place over lunch, then they started right up again.

It was near the end of the day when Zoey finally snapped as a kid pressed his face into the cage wall and made goofy faces at her. "Stop staring at me!"

Her shout made the tour group jump but the guide ushered them away before any questions could be asked. He glared at Zoey who was still seething, "You'll pay for that," he muttered.

Zoey slumped down, "Sorry, I just couldn't take it anymore."

"I did the same thing my first day," Redemption said.

"No food tonight then," Lily slumped down.

Zoey instantly felt guilt overwhelm her and she drooped, "Sorry…"

"It's OK, we'll be better tomorrow," Aqua tried to smile but just drooped until the next tour group came by.

Lily was right, the mercenaries only dropped off meager pans of water in their cage and watched them drink for a minute before removing them. The water was stagnant and brackish but they still drank it.

"Behave tomorrow and you'll get fed," the merc pulled the empty pans out and locked the cage again. The four cubs sat in silence until the mercs left, shutting off the lights and leaving them in darkness. Once the noise of retreating steps stopped, Lily created a small ball of light which gave them a dim light to see each other in, Lily then gave them all some water from the dish she kept hidden from the mercenaries.

Once they were done they sat as close to each other as possible so they could see better with the minimal light from Lily's orb. "So, where did they find you two?" Lily asked.

"In the snow. They killed our parents," Aqua began to tear up again as he lay his head down.

"Are you two siblings?" Redemption asked.

"No!" Zoey almost shouted but held back at the last second, "All four of our parents." She pounded the floor of their cage with her fist.

Aqua wiped his eyes, "Where did you two come from?"

Redemption stared down at the floor, "I was looked after by a human named Audrianna who found me after my parents abandoned me. She looked after me and taught me a lot of stuff while she was studying to be a nurse." Redemption smiled, "She was nice but she never told me her name, though she gave me mine: Redemptionheart. She treated me like I was her own daughter and she was like my mom, for about a year, but she told me I should never go outside for my own safety. I asked her why but she never gave me a straight answer, just that there were many dangers outside and I should stay in for my own safety. So I listened and didn't go outside… until…"

Aqua, Zoey and even Lily now stared intently at Redemption as she continued her story, "Until what?" Zoey asked.

Redemption started to shake, "Until one terrible day she went outside and I heard this loud boom and I heard Audrianna scream! I knew I wasn't supposed to go outside but I had to go out after that." She was tearing up a she continued, "I saw her lying on the ground in her own blood, and when I turned her over I saw a hole in her chest." Redemption sucked in a shuddering breath and did her best to continue, "I…I held her and asked her what happened and she…she said she was… shot by someone wearing a mask. I tried to get her to tell me who but she just shuddered and lay still." Redemption pressed her hands to her eyes and wept openly. None of her cellmates knew what to say and waited until she calmed down.

It took a few minutes but Redemption sniffed and rubbed her nose and eyes, "I called 911 but it was too late for her. She was dead before I even called…" then Redemption broke down and started crying again.

"How did you get here?" Zoey wiped some tears from her own eyes.

Redemption sucked in breath, "I was waiting for the ambulance when I heard another bang and something stuck in my arm, like a needle with feathers on the back, then some men wearing masks came and scooped me into a bag. I woke up on a ship and then they dumped me in here."

"How long have you been here?" Aqua asked.

Redemption rubbed her eyes, "I think… a year, maybe more… I have been able to see the sun so I just know when each day ends at lights out."

"What's a year?" Zoey asked.

"365 days, or four seasons," Redemption lay down, "Lily was already here when I was put in here." She turned to the dark red bear, "You never told me how you got here."

Lily stared down at the ground, "I fell from the sky." They all stared at her as she continued. "My…creator was a tall man in a dark purple robe with red eyes called No-Heart. He said he created me to fight his enemies, especially one who humiliated him with his magic, which is why I can use magic. He said I was supposed to be the exact opposite of the one he made as a 'clone' from, even called me Loathe Heart Bear because that was what I supposed to do." Lily lay down on her side. "He wanted me to use my magic to hurt people, but I didn't want to, I couldn't even break the targets he showed me and he beat me or zapped me whenever I failed. Then after a year he said I was a failure and threw me out of his home, literally grabbed me and threw me out a window."

Lily took a deep breath as she relived the memory in her mind, "He lived in the sky, in a big dark castle on the clouds, so he threw me to earth." She gave a slight smile, "I guess he didn't think I learned that much because I was able to just float to the ground, over a couple days… When I finally got to earth I saw a red flower called a lily so I took that for my name and went to search for food. A couple days later I was captured by these people, I guess they saw me falling slowly and were ready as soon as I came to Earth. I wasn't put on a ship so I guess I was already on the right landmass. I've been her too long…" she slumped down.

They sat in silence for a time before Redemption spoke, "If you've been here so long, why didn't you use your magic to escape?"

Lily stared at the floor and wrung her hands together, "I don't want to hurt anyone, even these people. I don't want to even fight if I can avoid it…I don't want to do what that wizard made me for.

"Can you show us how to do magic?"

Lily looked up at Zoey, "Teach you?"

"Yeah," Zoey pumped her fists in front of her, "If we learn maybe we can break out of here."

"I don't know...I just know how to do this magic, I don't really know how to teach it," Lily looked around in the dim light at their eager faces, "But I can try."

Over the next few days they got into a routine and Zoey learned better self-control. Every morning they were roused by the pipe banging on their cages, someone would reach in with vacuum and clean any waste from the previous day, then the tour groups would come and they would sit up and force themselves to act cute, even for the kids that rattled the bars and tried to grab at them but they learned to just stay as far away as possible and the kids would be pulled away before too long. Then if they didn't make a mistake they would be fed a thin pasty gruel with leftover meat chunks mixed in and some water then the lights went out and they were expected to just lie there.

But as soon as the guards left for the night, Lily would create her small light and the magic lessons would begin. At first they had to learn how to bring magic out of themselves and it took the better part of a week for Lily to even figure out how someone who never used magic before could learn that, but once they were over the first hurtle things started going.

On the tenth night after they managed to bring out a shimmering field of energy (raw magic), Lily decided to tell them about the different elements she knew how to create and control.

Once they were listening, Lily sat forwards, cupping her hands together, and started, "As far I know there are twelve elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Aether, Plant, Acid, Time, Viscera and Sound." As she spoke each word a small piece of the element appeared floating above her cupped hands, then vanished as the other appeared: a small ball of dirt, a tiny orange flame, a small ripple of wind, a small ball of water, a tiny ball of light, a small orb of darkness, a small ripple of red energy, a small leaf, a small bubble of green acid, a small distortion they could see through, tiny fragments of bone, and lastly a small pulse of sound that made an audible *thump* before it vanished.

"Can you teach us all of those?" Zoey was eager despite the meager food she'd gotten used to eating.

"Not all at once. No-Heart said he gave me a piece of every element so he could see which was the most destructive, you'll have to pick one to start with and try to bring it out. Also there are a few related elements," Lily took a deep breath as they listened, "Air also can do lightning," a small arc of electricity appeared in her hands, "Water can use cold and ice," a small shimmering field of ice crystals replaced the lightning, "Darkness also controls gravity," she picked up a small splinter of wood from the floor which levitated off the ground, "and Aether lets you move things around," she floated a splinter a short distance away.

"Then I want to learn that, Aether," Redemption said.

"Teach me darkness," Zoey said.

Aqua had to think for a moment, remembering the dolphins that had contacted him before he answered, "Water. I want to learn water."

Lily nodded, "OK, we'll start tomorrow." She looked around, as if someone was watching, then lay down and snuffed out their tiny light.

After that, the day routine didn't change at all: wake up, get cleaned out, entertain tour groups then get fed just enough to keep going. Then at night their magical training would begin, but it proved much more difficult. Bringing the basic magic out was easy, turning it into an element proved much harder; Zoey and Redemption struggled for months with barely anything to show for it.

Aqua, on the other hand, took to it like a dolphin to water. Less than a week after starting he could already conjure a few tiny droplets of water and soon after that a tiny mist of frost. His progress easily outpaced the others and by the time Zoey and Redemption finally brought out the basic form of their elements (a little over a year after Zoey and Aqua arrived), Aqua was ready for their escape.

It was at night after Aqua said he was ready that they lay awake by the light of Lily's magic to form their plan.

Zoey had to keep herself from bouncing with excitement, "Alright, so what's the plan?"

Redemption looked up at the locked cage door where their food was delivered, "We need to be sneaky, if we break out in the middle of the day we'll get swarmed."

"So why not tonight?" Zoey asked.

"We need to think up a full plan first," Lily said, "We need to break out at night, and try to sleep more tomorrow."

"What if they punish us for sleeping in front of the tours?" Aqua asked, nerves creeping into his voice.

"So one day with no food," Zoey smirked, "If we get out we'll be able to eat whenever we want and if it fails I don't think we'll have to worry about it." Her attempt to be reassuring sent a shiver down each of their spines.

"Don't think about it, but I think I know a way to get us out," Lily said, "Aqua, if you can put some ice inside the cuffs you should be able to force them open, same with the cage door, just wedge it open."

Aqua nodded, "Then what?"

Lily paused for a moment, "Then we find a way out of here, through the doors, elevator, whatever we can until we're outside."

"But we don't know where anything is in here," Redemption sounded scared.

"It's better than being zoo exhibits the rest of our lives," Zoey clenched her fists, "I'm ready to get out of here."

Redemption saw the determination in her friend's eyes and managed to smile. "OK. Tomorrow night, we escape."

The next day started out like any other: be waked up by banging on their cage then sit up and act cute for the guests. It was during the lunch hour that the four of them lay down to sleep. The tours after lunch became increasingly annoying, starting with the tour guide trying to shake the bars to wake them up, followed by adults asking them to wake up, then came the children. Children who banged on the cage, shook the bars and shouted at them to wake up. While it made sleeping difficult and restless they stayed lying down and did their best to catch some sleep in between tour groups.

In the evening they were all sound asleep when the tour guide came down with the mercenaries responsible for the security of the animals.

"I'm telling you they slept through every single tour this afternoon. I need to teach them a lesson!" the guide argued.

One of the mercs glared at the guide, "I only let you down here to see what we do. You know the rules: starve them if they get out of line. They'll wake up hungry and thirsty and they'll be back on the program tomorrow morning." They moved off to feed the other exhibits.

A couple hours later, Lily was the first one to wake up. She lay still for a few minutes until she was certain no humans were around then sent three small balls of light over to hover in front of her friends' faces. Zoey swatted at the light before she woke up and rubbed her eyes as everyone else came awake. She saw Lily staring at her and smiled, "Alright, now we get out."

"Just give me a moment." Aqua lifted his left knee up and took hold of the metal cuff. Everyone watched as frost appeared on the metal. Aqua grimaced for a moment as ice formed under the metal on his fur, then began to push outwards. Aqua grit his teeth in pain as the ice pressed in but saw the metal straining to stay in place, until finally there was a metallic snap and the cuff bent outwards at the seal. Aqua pulled his foot free, thawed the ice still stuck to his fur as he slid out, then went to work on the other cuff. A moment later and Aqua was free!

Immediately he ran over to Zoey and grabbed her in a tight hug, "I did it!" he whispered to her.

"I know, now get us free too," Zoey reluctantly pulled back then sat down so Aqua could get to her shackles. A few minutes later and they were all free of the chains.

Zoey boosted Aqua up onto her shoulders so he could get at the lock. He pushed some ice into the keyhole and twisted it around until there was audible snapping and he was able to push the door open then climb out. Redemption climbed over Zoey and out of the cage, followed by Lily and then Zoey who easily climbed out on her own power.

Following the light from Lily's conjured orbs they found the wall then followed it to the elevator door. As Zoey was boosting Aqua up to push the buttons, Redemptionheart turned back the way they came.

"What about the other animals trapped here?" Redemption whispered.

Lily took Redemption's hand, "We'll come back for them some day. Right now we have to get ourselves free." An audible *ding* drew their attention as Aqua was lowered down and the elevator doors opened. All four of them had to shield their eyes against the bright light from the elevator.

As she turned to elevator, Redemption stopped upon seeing a door with a large red cross painted on. "Wait, I know that symbol. Audrianna said that shows where they keep medical supplies."

"So?" Zoey was standing in the door, inadvertently leaning on the part of the door to keep it open.

"So we might need some." Redemption stood on her toes to reach the doorknob and thankfully found it unlocked.

"She's right," Lily whispered, "Hold the door, Zoey, we'll be back in a moment."

Zoey rolled her eyes but kept leaning on the elevator door.

Inside the first-aid room, Lily created a dozen small balls of light to show them everything. Redemption found a large cloth bag on the wall and lifted it off while Lily emptied the cabinets of as many bandages, antiseptic and anesthetic as she could. Redemption joined in on looting the medical supplies, including a rather large box labeled GHB. Finally, they zipped up the bag and Redemption hauled it up onto her shoulders, after some adjusting of the straps so it wouldn't drag across the ground, though it did weigh her down.

Zoey was glaring impatiently at them as they finally lugged the medical bag into the elevator. Aqua looked up at the buttons on the wall and, with another boost form Zoey, managed to reach the one labeled "M". They sat tensely waiting as the elevator moved upwards, then finally came to a stop and opened, right in front of one of Purity Corp's employees with a cup of late-night coffee in his hand.

They stared at each other for a moment, then the employee shouted, "Escape!" Right before Aqua blasted him in the head with a stream of water, knocking him down. Even as they bolted they could hear others responding to the man's shout and a moment later an alarm sounded. They ran down the corridor, slowed down by Redemption's medical bag until they saw the front doors, and metal shutters slowly lowering into place.

Lily put on a burst of speed and got under the shutters, creating a couple small pillars of earth to brace the shutters open. "Hurry!" She shouted to her friend. Zoey grabbed Redemption's bag and helped her carry it. Aqua was the first to the door and he shot a blast of ice through the glass door, shattering it and creating an exit that quickly broke the remaining glass using more ice before Zoey and Redemption arrived, even as mercs began to swarm then entrance hall.

Lily held the shutter up as long a she could, until Aqua, Zoey and Redemption were through. She was about to join them when rough hands seized her and pulled her back. Her concentration lost, the earth pillars under the shutter collapsed and the shutter closed.

"Lily!" Zoey tried to turn back before Redemption grabbed her.

"GO! RUN!" Lily managed to shout before she was shoved into a large bag. Zoey had to fight the urge to turn back but she instead ran after Aqua and Redemption.

OoOoO

Illyana hated being woken up in the middle of the night. She slammed the intercom next to her bed and grumbles, "This better be important or you're dead!"

The voice that answered was just as serious as she expected. "Miss Illyana, the four colorful bears escaped their cage. Three got away but we're holding the red one on the main floor. Should we put her back in her cage?"

"What?!" Illyana forced herself out of bed, "No. Hold her there, I'll be down in a minute." She pulled on a robe over her tiger-skin pyjamas and headed for her private elevator.

Even in her most dire situation, Lily couldn't bring herself to attack living creatures, even ones as vile as the mercenaries who held her in the bag, the opening tied around her neck so only her head was exposed. Illyana entered the room, looking even more gaunt and death-like without her makeup on.

Illyana glared at Lily as she approached, "How did you escape?"

Whether through fear for her friends or out of defiance, Lily didn't answer.

"I asked you how they escaped!" Illyana put her hands on her hips.

Still, Lily remained silent.

"I'm not going to ask again," Illyana looked up at the mercenaries holding Lily captive, "Bring her with me. I have a punishment I've been wanting to test for some time."

Lily felt her breath catch in her throat as they were led to the elevator again, Illyana pushing three different floor buttons in some sort of code. Lily could only struggle in vain as the doors opened and they passed into a large, well-lit room. At the center of the room there was large slab of metal with open metal cuffs at the top and bottom.

"Attach her," Illyana pointed to the slab. Lily was roughly hauled out of the bag, her legs strapped down and her wrists shackled above her head. "Now, you're going to tell me how you escaped or where they ran to or you'll suffer torture you couldn't imagine."

Lily averted her gaze from Illyana, not even giving her the satisfaction of the look in her eyes.

Illyana bared her yellow teeth at Lily, "Fine! Then suffer!" She walked over a control panel a distance from the slab and pressed the controls. Clawed hands extended from behind the slab and began to tickle her under her arms.

Lily couldn't hold back at all, and she started to laugh, "HehehehehehahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

OoOoO

Despite the loss of their friend, Aqua, Zoey and Redemption ran as fast and far as they could, with Aqua in the lead.

Redemption, still struggling to hold the bag above the ground, was the first to voice the question: "Where can we go?"

Aqua slowed to a stop and looked around. Redemption sat down on the curb of the road they were on and spotted a pair of paintbrushes on the ground. She stuffed them into the medical bag while Zoey turned to watch the Purity Corp building.

"They're going to come after us," Zoey tensed.

"I know… there!" Aqua pointed to the right of where they had been running and took off again. Zoey helped Redemption lift up the heavy bag again and they were off, following Aqua as close as they could.

They were forced to slow down after some distance, but still they kept going as Aqua finally led them to a mostly empty dock, the boats tied off bobbing gently in the ocean waves. "Here," Aqua walked right up to the edge of the lower service dock and crouched to stick his hand in the water.

"What do we do now?" Redemption managed the heft the bag up enough to keep it off the ground again, "They're going to find us."

"Shh," Zoey put a finger to her lips, "I know Aqua has a plan." She was partly lying but she could see that Aqua was doing something purposeful.

"I'm back. I'm back at the water," Aqua spoke into the ocean waves. He used his newly learned magic to send a ripple out through the water. At first nothing happened, then they heard a clicking and squeaking from the water.

Three large bottle-nosed dolphins poked their heads up near the dock, one raising its head up enough for Aqua to stroke it. In his head, Aqua heard it speak. "Ride us, we will take you to safety."

Aqua turned to his Redemption and Zoey who were just staring at him. "Climb on, they'll get us out of here." Without waiting for their reply he slid into the water only to be buoyed up until he was riding the dolphin, holding onto its fin for support.

"I don't know." Redemption sounded hesitant.

Zoey grabbed her hand, "I trust Aqua more than I would any human, so I trust these dolphins." She all but dragged Redemptionheart to the shore and helped her on to the back of one of the dolphins. Redemption had to fasten the bag tight onto her back to avoid it getting dunked in the water. Zoey had no such worries and all but dove in. Once all three bears were on their backs, the dolphins took off through the water.

The exhilaration of speed hit them all but they had to hold on tight to avoid sliding off the dolphins' slippery backs. They couldn't see where they were going in the darkness but they knew it was better than staying behind to be captured again. They rode for hours, their mounts never seeming to tire, even Redemption's ride weighed down by her medical bag.

They rode for hours, right up until the sun was rising in the east and they were starting to get sleepy. Then they saw it in the distance: an island. Aqua perked up as soon as he saw it, "Look! There!" He shouted, which helped wake Zoey and Redemption up.

A tingle passed through all of them as they approached the island and before long the dolphins stopped in the shallows and let the three of them wade ashore, Redemption hoisting the medical bag over her head to keep it out of the water.

Aqua stayed behind to talk to the dolphins, "Is this place safe?"

"Yes," the voice spoke in his head, "Humans can't find this place, we like to come here to hide from them. Look," the dolphin nodded over to a shimmering part of the sky behind it, "That barrier will keep them from seeing you and protect you as long as you stay inside. Be safe," It nuzzled its nose against Aqua's hand.

"Will I see you again?" Aqua asked.

"As long as you keep the heart of a child within, you can find us any time you are in the water. Call to us if you ever go for a swim," The dolphin turned and swam away with its pod and Aqua waded to the shore, which led up a slope into the island's interior.

The island was a paradise. Lush trees and bushes heavy with fruit and vegetables that grew aplenty on the ground while birds sat in the limbs of the trees. Redemption set her bag down and finally sat down to take a rest.

As soon as Zoey saw Aqua walk up the slope she charged at him and tackled him to the ground. "Aqua!" she pushed a deep kiss on him as he flailed for a moment, then wrapped her in a hug. Zoey pulled back and smiled, leaning on him with her elbows, "You saved us, I love you!"

Aqua smiled back up at her, "I love you too. Can you let me up please?"

Zoey gave a hungry grin, "No way! I've been chained away from you for over a year, I want you Aqua," she leaned in closer, "Now!"

Redemption lay down, but stood up when she saw Zoey going hot and heavy into Aqua Bear and dragged her medical bag away from the pair. She turned for a moment and smiled as she saw their wiggling feet as Zoey rode up on Aqua before she turned to find a more private place to sleep. Now that they had time to themselves she was going to try and have some fun for the first time in years, once she had some sleep.


	12. Magi to the Rescue

Chapter 12: Magi to the Rescue

"HA! YA!" Zoey swung a large wooden two-handed sword at Aqua who blocked it with a shorter wooden sword. The two of them had taken up learning how to swordfight, having carved their swords over the course of months out of tree branches using their teeth and claws.

"HIYA!" Zoey swung hard and knocked Aqua's sword out of his hand. Aqua stumbled and fell on his butt while Zoey rested her sword on the ground, leaning on it and grinning, "I win again."

Aqua smiled and moved to stand, until Zoey grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, "You're good."

"Thanks," Zoey gave him a kiss then sighed, "so much better than magic training."

"You'll get it some day," Aqua hugged her, "Want to come for a swim?"

"Not today, I just need to rest," Zoey carefully pulled away then went to their bed, a soft pile of moss and leaves on the ground nearby. She sighed as she sat down and tried to conjure her magic again, struggling for a full minute but barely getting a wisp of darkness out. Aqua watched her for a moment then headed for the shore.

Aqua Bear loved to swim. He hadn't had much of a chance to swim for fun before his capture but now he did whenever he could find the time. Instead of wading into the water from the beach he would dive off the nearby two-meter high cliff and into the deeper water. It wasn't too far from the beach and he could easily swim there if the water got too rough.

Another thing he loved was the dolphins. They would come to him every day when he called them in the water, just like today as he swam away from the island but not too close to the barrier.

As he swam through his normal warm up, Aqua saw the splashes and heard the clicking that signaled the arrival of the dolphins. Over the past couple years Aqua had grown a strong connection with the dolphins, learning to communicate on his own and even being adopted by the same trio that rescued them as a brother. Every day he could he would be out there, learning to swim and improving his control over the water. One of the dolphins swam right up to him and let him stroke his head.

"Thanks for coming." Aqua said.

"We will always be near to you, Aqua Bear," the dolphin spoke to his mind, "You are the first land creature we have trusted in years."

"So how is your mate, Zoey?" another asked.

Aqua blushed. He and Zoey had been real mates ever since they arrived on the island, it was no secret but Aqua always felt a bit sheepish whenever the dolphins brought it up, "She's still struggling with magic, but she's a stronger fighter than I am."

"Enough talk! Swim with us!" the third dolphin dove under Aqua then jumped up over him from the other side while spinning in mid air.

Aqua laughed with joy then took a deep breath and dove after them. He pushed the water around him to speed his swimming as he dove under and around his friends, all four of them surfacing for air every couple minutes.

Eventually, they stopped to rest and floated on the surface. Aqua was giggling like a cub as he turned to face them. "That was fun."

"Yes it was," One of the dolphins said. "We hope you never lose the heart of a child you have beating inside you."

"You exhibit a kindness rare in sentient creatures," another said, "Despite the pain and hardship you've been through you still have a pure heart."

"And we'd like to share something with you, a pact with us. We can feel the great potential in you and we can bring it out, if you'll let us," the third said.

Aqua's eyes widened, "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Yes," the first said to him as it floated in front of him. "Dive under the water with us."

Aqua took another deep breath and dove beneath the surface. He floated just under the surface with the sun rippling through the water above him as the dolphins dove alongside him. They began to swim, forming a ring around him. At first Aqua tried to watch them but then felt an overwhelming calm wash through him. Even as he held his breath he felt something pouring into him: energy, light, something intangible yet warm. His tummy lit up, glowing bright and almost blinding him as he shut his eyes against the brightness.

Suddenly he felt a shock as the energy stopped and he let his breath go in a sudden burst. Instinctually, he tried to breathe in and in the same instant started to panic… until he realized he was breathing normally despite being underwater.

"What's happening? What?" Aqua grabbed his throat then blinked, "I can talk underwater?"

"And more. Just relax, Aqua Bear, and breathe," One of the dolphins swam up to him.

Aqua took the advice and breathed in. He could feel the water flowing into and out of him as naturally as air and his panic vanished, "This feels…I feel great!"

"And look, a symbol of our pact," the dolphin nudged its nose against Aqua's stomach and he looked down. On his tummy there was a symbol of a blue dolphin jumping through a flaming hoop.

"I didn't think it would look like that," one of the dolphins commented.

"Regardless, you can feel it, can't you?" the third asked, "We've awakened our power within you along with the power you already had."

Aqua could feel the energy flowing inside him and he took off through the water. Now he wasn't just pushing himself along with the water, the water was flowing with him as he sped off, outstripping the dolphins in speed until he shot to the surface and launched himself three meters above the water, laughing all the while, before splashing down amongst his friends.

"This is incredible!" he shouted, loving how he could talk underwater, "Thank you!"

The dolphins swam around him, having just caught up to his speedy swim, "Just never lose that child-like enthusiasm, stay kind and pure of heart and be mindful of the barrier, you almost jumped out of it."

"I will," Aqua stroked his friends' heads.

"Why don't you bring your mate to meet us?" One dolphin asked, "We want to meet her properly."

Aqua smiled, "Sure! Just wait here." He swam back to the island. Feeling daring, Aqua dove deeper then shot up and out of the water and launched himself up and onto the top of the cliff. He wobbled a bit on his feet and looked down at the new symbol on his tummy. A thought struck him, "Fire? Maybe I should try that," he held his hands up and took a deep breath, a moment later a small red and blue flame lit in the palm of his hands. He grinned, "Dolphin Fire!" he shot the small fireball into the sky where it evaporated a moment later. He'd need to practise that.

"Whoa, Aqua, what was that?!" Zoey approached her mate with a huge grin on her face, "that was cool, wait what's that on your tummy?"

Aqua smiled at her, "It's from the dolphins, they made a pact with me." He took Zoey's hand, "Com'on, they want to meet you."

Zoey resisted being pulled along. "Really? I mean…" She hesitated.

Aqua turned back to her, "Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time."

Zoey nodded, "OK," she let herself be led to the beach.

Once at the water they slowly waded in towards the fins they saw on the surface some distance away until the water was deep enough to let them swim. Aqua led Zoey into the deeper water with Zoey struggling to stay afloat.

Once they were among the dolphins, Aqua pulled Zoey in close, "Don't worry, I won't let you drown." Then he pulled them both underwater.

Zoey panicked as the water closed in on her without the chance for a proper breath, until Aqua kissed her. Despite herself, Zoey leaned into the kiss and a moment later the panic vanished. She forgot for a moment that she was underwater and spoke, "Aqua that… what?" She grabbed at her throat.

"As long as you're with me, you will never fear the water," Aqua said. He held her hand as they turned to face the dolphins. Zoey tried to hide behind Aqua, finally getting a full view of the creatures that Aqua had befriended.

"Don't worry, Zoey, we won't hurt you," one of the dolphins said.

"What? How?" She struggled to find the right words through her astonishment.

"Through me," Aqua gently coaxed her out into full view.

"You are Aqua's mate, I don't think he could have chosen finer," the dolphin swam up and brushed up against her. Zoey bristled for a moment then relaxed when she saw Aqua's calm expression.

"They're friends, don't worry," Aqua said.

"OK," Zoey reached out and touched one of the dolphins as it came close to her. She felt calmer.

"See?" the dolphin said, "We won't hurt you."

"OK, I just… I'm not use to being underwater," Zoey said.

"Would you like to ride me then?" The dolphin asked.

"Maybe…" Zoey hesitated.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time," Aqua promised.

Zoey smiled, "OK." She let go of Aqua's hand and let the dolphin swim under her. A moment later she was on the surface, riding the dolphin's back while it's two companions and Aqua swam alongside her. They knew she was nervous and let her adjust as they swam her around the island.

Once they returned to near the beach, Zoey slid off the dolphin's back and into Aqua's arms. One kiss later and she was back to breathing underwater. She stroked one of the dolphins with her free hand, "Thank you." She felt a tingle as she passed a hand over the dolphin's nose and shuddered, "What was that?"

"This," the dolphin opened its mouth showing them a pink crystal about the size of a golf ball. "I used this to help form the pact with Aqua." It looked at the two bears, "He said you're struggling with magic, Zoey, perhaps it can help you with your magic."

Zoey just stared at the crystal for a moment.

"Go on, take it," Aqua urged.

"OK," Zoey reached out with her free hand and took the crystal. It felt oddly warm and she held it to her chest. As the dolphins surfaced for air, Zoey suddenly felt a rush of energy up through her arm and into her mind. Knots of tension relaxed and bundles of stressed nerves came undone as her eyes felt opened and her tummy began to glow, a scattering of small red hearts appeared all across her tummy. "I get it now, I feel so relaxed but," she grinned at Aqua, "Energized!" She pulled him into a kiss while they were still underwater.

The three dolphins turned and swam away, leaving the two lovers alone.

OoOoO

Redemptionheart sat alone on the island, squeezing oranges in her hands and letting the juice fill three cups that were really beakers they had stolen from Illyana's medical supplies. She looked up and around to make sure Aqua and Zoey weren't around then retrieved a box marked GHB that was buried in the bottom of the medical bag they'd stolen along with the supplies. She took two small vials of the contents and poured them into two of the drinks, mixing them until they looked the same, and carefully setting her own drink aside so she wouldn't mistake them for hers.

"Just wait for tonight," she giggled to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a screech from nearby. Redemption tensed for a moment until she saw that it was just an eagle perched on one of the nearby trees. She started at the bird as it flapped its wings one time and got a devious grin on her face. She kept her eyes on the eagle as she stood up. It swiveled its head to look at her for a moment then turned to search the area around it, paying her no mind. Perfect!

Redemption walked right up the edge of the trees branches so she could still see the eagle then reached out both her hands. The eagle shrieked in surprise as invisible hands grabbed it around the body then began tugging at its wings. It struggled to get free for a moment before a long feather from each wing was yanked free. Redemption released her telekinetic hold on the bird and it flew away, searching for the thing that had grabbed it, ignoring the multicolored bear as she pulled the feathers into her hand. "Thank you," she whispered then waited for the bird to fly off. While Aqua and Zoey were still away, Redemption walked over to where her own bed lay and hid the feathers under a hollow rock where she also hid the paintbrushes she had found during their escape. She twiddled one of the feathers in between her fingers before stashing them in her hiding place, "I'm going to have so much fun with these."

OoOoO

Zoey grinned as she and Aqua stepped onto the beach. "That was great!" she swung around and pulled him into a hug, the pink crystal still held in her left hand.

Aqua giggled, "Thank you." They leaned in and kissed.

They stayed lip locked for a minute until Aqua felt a small lurch then separated to see that they were hovering half-a-meter off the ground.

Zoey smiled, "It feels so easy now."

"There you go," Aqua gave her a kiss then his stomach growled, "Let's get something to eat."

"OK." Zoey lowered them back to the ground and they headed up into the interior of the island.

Redemptionheart smiled when she saw her two friend returning from their swim, hand-in-hand and still soaking wet, "Have a good swim?" she asked.

"More than good." Zoey dropped the gem off next to her bed then grabbed some fruit off a nearby tree, Aqua doing the same.

"How about some orange juice?" Redemption pointed to the two beakers she'd left for them taking a drink from her own.

"Looks tasty," Aqua picked up the two beakers and handed one to Zoey, who downed it in one gulp. Redemption gave a small smile as Aqua drank his own down, then noticed the pictures on both of their stomachs.

"Where did you get those?" she pointed at their bellies.

Aqua finished his drink then looked down, "The dolphins gave them to us."

"Yeah, using this," Zoey held the pink crystal forwards.

Redemption stood up and stared at the crystal, "Can I try?" she asked.

"Of course," Zoey held it out to Redemption who picked it up in both hands.

Nothing happened. Redemption pouted, "Com'on, work."

"Maybe it's out of magic," Aqua said, prodding the crystal, "it feels… inert."

Redemption sighed and passed the rock back to them, feeling a bit let down.

"Don't worry, maybe we just have to wait for it to fill back up," Zoey suggested.

"Maybe…" Redemption sounded unconvinced as they sat down to eat.

Redemption watched the two of them eating for almost half an hour until she saw Aqua yawn after he finished eating some more food. "So tired," he mumbled as the sun started going down.

Zoey stretched and yawned, "Yeah, let's go to bed," she leaned on Aqua as the two of them all but stumbled towards their bed and lay down.

Redemption had a big grin on her face as she watched her friends lying down to sleep. She waited a while, until the sun was down and the bright light of the full moon was in the sky.

"I've been waiting for this night," Redemption giggled then went to the hollow rock by her bed. When she returned, Aqua and Zoey were both lying on their backs, completely unconscious. Under the light of the full moon, Redemption lay down at their feet with the paintbrushes and eagle feathers at her side.

Redemption reached out and began tickling Aqua's feet with her fingers. "Coochie-coochie coo!" she whispered as she tickled.

Aqua's feet twitched and he began to giggle, "Heeheeheehee."

"Not so sensitive, what about you Zoey?" Redemption reached over and tickled the pink bear's feet as well. Zoey twitched more violently, even kicking slightly on reflex, but only smiled, no laughing yet.

"Oh looks like you need something stronger," Redemption grinned a she picked up the paintbrushes and began rubbing them along Zoey's feet. This got the reaction she was hoping for.

"Ehehehehahahahahahahahaha!" Zoey laughed and squirmed on reflex but remained unconscious. Redemption kept scrubbing at her feet with one brush before she exchanged the other for one of the eagle feathers, which she began flicking across Aqua's feet.

Aqua responded almost immediately, "Ahahahahahahheheeeheeheeheheeheehee!" he didn't squirm as much as Zoey.

Redemption couldn't help but giggle, "Heeheehee, you two have such cute laughs. Tickle tickle tickle!" She swapped the tools in each hand, rubbing the tip of the stiff eagle feather into the sole of Zoey's foot.

"EEEEEhahahahahahhahaa!" Zoey tried to pull her foot out of reach but Redemption just reached out to continue to tickling.

"Haahahahahahaahaaaaaa!" Aqua took a deep breath then laughed louder and harder, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"So you're more sensitive? Let's see how you like this," She stopped tickling Zoey for a moment and flicked the feather across Aqua's other foot while continuing with the brush.

"EEEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!" Aqua squirmed as his whole body shook with laughter. Redemption kept it up for a full minute before switching back to Zoey, scrubbing harder.

"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zoey stopped squirming but shook with laughter. Neither of them woke up despite the noise and stimulation. Redemption rubbed the eagle feather between each of her toes which made her toes wiggle, a couple times catching the feather as they scrunched up, but Redemption just tickled at the bottoms of her toes with the paintbrush and she let go.

Redemption turned to Aqua and paused before she started tickling him again, "Oooh, I see you're excited about this." She picked up both feathers and began tickling his toes, dancing over the tips of his toes and sawing in between them as they wiggled almost nonstop while he laughed.

"EEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!" He tried to cross his feet in front of each other and scrunch up to stop Redemption's assault.

"I think I found your sweet spot," Redemption giggled. She set down one of the feathers and grabbed at one of his feet, tickle-squeezing one of his toes. Aqua giggled and his foot unscrunched, and Redemption attacked in between his toes with the feather.

"EEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAHHAHAAAHAHAHAAA!" Aqua was squirming and almost kicking as he tried to pull his foot out of range.

"Nuh-uh, coochie coochie coo!" Redemption giggled as she pulled his foot back and mercilessly tickled in between his toes.

"EEEEEHEEEEHEEHEEHEHEHEEHEEHEEEHHEE!" Aqua tried to cross his feet again but Redemption just switched to his other foot, starting the laughter again, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You're really excited about this," Redemption giggled, then switched back to Zoey and grabbed her big toe, squeezing it and running her brush between her toes.

Zoey wiggled frantically to try and stop it. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She scrunched up her feet, but Redemption just tickled her harder with her brushes, enjoying the sound of her friends' laughter.

This continued for over an hour until Redemption started to feel sleepy. She gathered up her tools and snuck back to her bed. "Heeheehee, I can't wait to do this again tomorrow," she giggled to herself before she hid her tools and lay down, giggling to herself.

Before she could fall asleep she heard noise from nearby, recognizing it as Aqua and Zoey waking up. "Didn't think I made them that excited, heeheehee!" She ignored the noise and fell asleep.

OoOoO

They had lost track of how long they had been on the island. It was sheltered from the outside world, provided them with food and even the winters were mild enough that all they had to do was huddle up at night to sleep. For all it mattered they could have stayed there forever.

Aqua yawned and snuggled up to Zoey on their bed of moss in the early hours of the morning. Zoey smiled and kissed Aqua, "Good morning, Aqua."

"Morning Zoey," Aqua's hand drifted lower to rub across Zoey's slightly swollen tummy, "How do you feel?"

Zoey giggled, "Hungry, as always."

"What do you want?" Aqua asked.

"Hmm…" Zoey had to think for a moment, "Fish, lots of fish."

"Alright," Aqua gave her a kiss then got up, "I love you."

"I love you too," Zoey watched Aqua turn and head for the beach then rolled over. She lay there for another minute before she finally got up and stretched her back, pushing her belly forwards.

"Feeling better now?" Redemption had gotten up, bringing over an armful of fruit.

"My feet are starting to hurt," Zoey took some fruit from Redemption and dug in, "And eating for two is getting annoying."

"It'll be worth it. Maybe I could give your feet a massage," Redemption offered.

"Massage?" Zoey gave her an incredulous look with her mouth still full of food.

"Rub your feet to make them less sore," Redemption sat down and dropped the fruit on the ground where it was easy to get to.

"I'd love that," Zoey carefully lowered herself to the ground, hand resting on her small baby bump.

Redemption was the first to notice the change in Zoey over the last couple weeks and with what little medical training she remembered had figured out the truth: Zoey was pregnant. Redemption wondered if this was because of her periodic night-time tickling sessions which always left the two hot and bothered by the time she finished, either way she had stopped using the GHB once she knew, not even on Aqua for fear his laughter would wake Zoey up and force a lot of awkward questions.

Now she had a different tactic. She grabbed Zoey's outstretched right foot and began to massage it, which made Zoey sigh happily as she felt the soreness being rubbed out. Redemption smiled and switched between her feet, rubbing until she felt most of the tension ease out and Zoey's feet relaxed.

"There, feel better?" Redemption asked with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, so much better," Lonesome leaned back on her arms.

"So how about this?" Redemption grabbed the side of her foot and poked her sole in the middle, tickling with her finger.

"EEE! Stop heeheeheeheehee!" Zoey tried to squirm away but Redemption had too tight a grip on her foot.

"Nope, you need this, Zoey," Redemption giggled as she squeezed Zoey's toes and tickled in-between them.

"STOP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zoey scrunched up and wiggled her toes to try and get free.

"OK," Redemption let got of her foot and Zoey pulled it back, only to have Redmeption grab her other foot and start tickling.

"No faihaihaihair!" Zoey laughed and started squirming again.

"I stopped with one foot, now for the other, heeheehee!" Redemption giggled as she tickled Zoey's other foot, tickling between her wiggling toes.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zoey couldn't reach down to stop her and was eventually forced to lie down under the multicolored bear's assault.

OoOoO

Aqua dove off the cliff and hit the water in one smooth motion. It only took him a second to spot a school of fish nearby and dive after then, managing to catch one in his teeth. He stopped for a moment to form a bubble of compressed water around the fish, keeping it locked in place then pulling it behind him as he chased the rest of them, catching two more in his hands and showing them into the bubble as well.

Aqua was so lost in the exhilaration of the hunt, he didn't even notice when he accidentally swam outside the barrier underwater, his count of fish up to over a dozen by now. Finally, he surfaced and lifted the bubble of water the fish were swimming around in above the water, like an aquarium made entirely of water. He grinned, "Twenty should be enough for the four of us." He held the bubble above the water as he swam back to the island.

A fat man on a nearby boat had ben scanning the area with binoculars, then stopped when he saw the blue bear surface nearby, and swim towards the island before vanishing into thin air. He dug out his phone and dialed, "Illyana, it's Big Joe. I found one of the bears that escaped…"

OoOoO

Love Heart and Confidence Heart had moved the coffee table to the side of their living room and now sat where it had been facing each other with their legs crossed and their eyes closed. Miracle Heart wandered into the living room with Shimmeringstar following her, giggling as he swatted at her four tails.

"Mom, Dad, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Meditating," Love Heart answered without opening his eyes.

"Why?" Shimmers poked his head out from behind his sister,

"Daddy's trying to reach out father with his tummy symbol power, so I'm showing him how to relax." Confidence smiled even though her eyes were closed.

"Tummy symbol power?" Shimmers looked up at Mira.

"Dad's symbol can find lost Care Bears, that's how he found Soaring Heart and Mounty Heart," Mira looked back at Shimmers.

"The moose and eagle?" Shimmers cocked his head to one side. Mira smiled and nodded.

"I'm trying to reach out as far as I can to find other lost Care Bears," Love Heart took a deep breath and exhaled. Mira and Shimmers watched their parents for a few minutes, until Love Heart's tummy symbol started to glow red.

Love Heart's eyes shot open, "I have one he's… crap!" Love Heat swore as his tummy symbol faded, "I had him for a moment, now he's gone."

Confidence Heart jumped to her feet, "So what do we do?" She helped Love Heart to stand.

"We go and find them, but first I need some help." He turned to his children, who were both staring at him, "Mira, watch Shimmers while we're gone," then they left.

Mira just stood there, her tails flicking back and forth as she processed what had just happened. She winced slightly then looked behind her to see Shimmers playing with her tails, swatting at them and giggling as the tried to catch them. Mira grinned and began flicking her tails faster. "Wanna play?" she asked.

"I am!" Shimmers giggled and grabbed one of her tails.

"Then let's play!" Mira concentrated and managed to take better control to her tails, using the three Shimmers hadn't grabbed and flicking them across his body.

"EEEE! Stop that tickles! Heeheeheehee!" Shimmers let go of his sisters' fourth tail as her fuzzy fox tails easily brushed across him, tickling his sensitive areas under his arms.

"Oh does it?" Mira smirked and began tickling him harder with all four of her tails.

"NOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shimmers fell on his back as Mira tickled him mercilessly with her tails, now focusing on his feet's paw pads. Shimmers was squirming too much to even try and crawl away.

"I didn't think you were this ticklish," Mira teased.

"STOHOHOHOP! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAHAHAHAHAN'T EEEHEEHEEHEEE!" Shimmers shuddered and stopped laughing for a moment.

Mira stopped tickling her little brother and sniffed, making a disgusted face. "Alright," she turned around and helped Shimmers up, then lifted him off the ground, "You need a change."

"Aww," Shimmers pouted as Mira carried him to the bathroom and laid him down on the fold out changing table, "That was fun."

"Then I'll do it again, once we finish here." Mira mentally gagged as she changed his diaper, tossing it in the sealed laundry bucket.

"Why do you have four tails?" Shimmers asked as Mira cleaned him up, Shimmers having learned not to squirm while being changed if he didn't want it to take longer.

"I'm a fox, we grow tails when we learn more magic, it's called being a Kitsune." Mira dusted his bottom with talcum powder and tied a fresh cloth diaper around his bottom, remembering to tie the sides tight like their parents had said so Shimmers couldn't undo them. "There, all done."

"Yay!" Shimmers sat up then jumped off the changing table.

Mira exited the bathroom with Shimmers right on her tails, leading him towards the living room. Shimmers giggled excitedly as he chased after her tails again. He tried to grab one once she stopped in the middle of the living room but it flicked out of reach while another tickled under his armpit.

"EEE! Stop it!" Shimmers giggled as he grabbed at the offending purple tail. He grabbed it but felt another tickling under his arm and across his face. "AHAHAHAHA!" Shimmers couldn't stay upright and fell backwards, exposing his feet to Miracle Heart's tails which tickled mercilessly at his pads. "HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE NOOOO HAHAHAHAHA!" Shimmer squirmed and flailed but didn't try to get away as Mira's tails tickled all over his body.

Mira smirked, "You gotta enjoy this if you're just lying there."

OoOoO

Love Heart made a beeline for the Great Fox where it was still parked in the Kingdom of Caring in the empty field of clouds between the old Caring Castle and the rest of the Kingdom of Caring.

Soulful Heart Fox and Tenderheart Bear were walking down the ramp from their daily psionic training when Love Heart and Confidence Heart ran up.

"Is Fara there, I need to talk to her," Love Heart wasn't even out of breath.

"We just finished our training but she wanted to spend time with Fox," Tenderheart saw the worried look on Love Heart's face, "What's wrong?"

"I found another lost Care Bear, but I lost track of them and I can't remember where I sensed them," Love Heart pointed to his forehead, "I saw brief picture in my mind but I can't hang onto it and I need someone psychic to help me track them down."

"I can help." All three of them turned to Soulful Heart.

"Really?" Confidence Heart sounded skeptical but hopeful.

"I've been focusing on clairsentience and clairvoyance," Soulful stepped towards Love Heart.

Love Heart nodded and extended a hand forwards, "Alright. Thank you."

Soulful took Love Heart's hand, winced slightly then closed his eyes. Love Heart could feel Soulful's mind touching him own. It lasted for just a moment before Soulful Heart broke the connection and dug his heartphone out of his tummy symbol. "I know where that was," he opened the GPS maps.

"How?" Love Heart was stunned.

"Psionic compass and GPS, of a sort, I can know where I am at any time." He pointed to a spot off the coast of Australia, "It's around there."

"Thank you!" Confidence Heart grabbed Love Heart's hand, "Let's go." They launched up and flew out over the side of the clouds, Love Heart pulling out his heartphone to text his parents as they did so.

Tenderheart turned to Soulful, "I'm impressed, Soulful."

"I'm learning fast, not sure where it'll take me," Soulful turned and headed home into the forest. He felt a small pain shoot through his tail but just walked onwards.

OoOoO

"The fish is here!" Aqua Bear approached where Zoey and Redemption were sitting and levitating the large sphere of water filled with swimming fish over to them.

Zoey was still feeling a bit sensitive but immediately grinned when she saw the fish swimming around. "Yes! Let's eat!" She reached into the sphere and pulled out a fish and bit into it while it was still moving.

Aqua couldn't help but smile at his mate's enthusiasm as he dropped the water away and left the fish to wiggle around on the grass, soaking the ground around them.

"I'd rather have them cooked," Redemption said as she began to build a campfire for them. This was something Aqua and Zoey had gotten used to: they didn't mind eating fish raw, it was how they ate before, but Redemptionheart was used to her meat being cooked.

Aqua just smiled and walked over to the campfire, "Dolphin fire," he shot a small blue and red fire onto the wood, which instantly lit on fire.

Zoey had eaten five of the twenty fish Aqua had brought back by the time the rest of the fish were cooking around the fire. Zoey grinned and sniffed at the cooking fish with her hand on her small baby bump. "Smells good," she was practically drooling.

Aqua poke one of the fish that was roasting on a stick, "They should be done." No sooner had the words left his mouth then Zoey grabbed one of the cooked fish and bit into it. Aqua couldn't help but chuckle as he and Redemption helped themselves to the rest of the fish. By the end, Zoey had eaten ten of the fish, half raw half cooked, while Aqua and Redemption each only had five.

Zoey sighed happily as she ate fruit and leaned backwards, "Thank you Aqua."

Aqua scooted over next to her and gave her a kiss once she had finished eating, "You're welcome." He let her lean up against her, closed his eyes and put his arm around. There wasn't anything else he wanted to do now that they were fed. A whoosh of air overhead made Aqua look up, seeing two spot up in the sky.

Confidence Heart gave her husband a funny look as they hovered over the island, "What's so special about this place?"

Love Heart stared down at the island as the unicorn star on his forehead started to glow. "Mom told me about these places: it's a unicorn grove, the same kind of place where she and dad were hiding for years. They protect the inhabitants from the outside in different ways, some just keep non-unicorns out and it feels like this one hides them from outside eyes." He turned to his wife, "Ready?"

"Always," Confidence Heart smirked and they flew down towards the island.

Aqua saw them as they started to descend and was up on his feet in an instant, "Zoey, Redemption, stay behind me!" he held his hands out and broadsword made of ice appeared in his right hand.

Love Heart and Confidence landed at the edge of the clearing, right at the top of the beach. Love Heart's tummy symbol was glowing bright red. "We've found them…" Love Heart trailed off as he turned to see Aqua standing as if ready to fight. Confidence tensed but they both stepped forwards.

Aqua watched the two strangers approach, ready to defend himself and his friends. His eyes widened as they came close, the green one was a bear like them but a fair bit taller and the other was a sandy… rabbit?

"Stay back!" Aqua shouted, "I won't let you hurt us!"

Love Heart stepped forwards, "Relax, we're not going to hurt you."

Aqua swung his ice sword at Love Heart, "Get back!"

"Hey, watch it!" Confidence Heart took up a fighting stance as wind kicked up around her.

"Don't try anything you freaky rabbit!" Zoey stepped out from behind Aqua, fist raised.

Confidence bristled, "I'm a fennec fox! Not a rabbit!" she took a step towards Zoey.

Aqua jumped into action and swung his free hand towards Confidence, a red and blue flaming sword appearing in his hand, "Stay away from her! Leave us alone! We don't need your help!"

Confidence jumped back. Love Heart bared his teeth and conjured a sword into his hand. "Don't swing that at her or me!" Love Heart and Aqua stared each other down for a moment then Love Heart sighed and dissipated his sword, "Fine, let's go. Stay here if you want," the turned and walked away. Confidence Heart looked at the trio for a moment, then turned to follow Love Heart.

Aqua had calmed down as he watched them go and immediately regretted his actions, especially since they had backed off instead of starting a fight. He let his fire and ice swords evaporate and called out, "Wait! Please don't go!" He started running after the two.

Love Heart and Confidence Heart turned around as Aqua met them. Love Heart was still fuming but upon seeing the desperate fear in Aqua's eyes, was reminded of Joaquin when they first met him. "We didn't leave Shimmers behind, even when he resisted his transformation."

Confidence nodded, "We can't leave them behind, I mean look at them: they're just kids." She looked at Aqua then up to Zoey and Redemption as they approached, "Who didn't mean what they said."

"No, we didn't," Redemption said.

Love Heart nodded, "My name is Love Heart Bear and this is my wife, Confidence Heart Fennec," he was about to continue when he noticed that Zoey and Aqua already had tummy symbols, but Redemption didn't. "How did you get those symbols?" Love Heart asked.

"Like yours?" Aqua pointed back at Love Heart's own tummy symbol. "Dolphins gave them to us."

"Dolphins?" Confidence sounded confused, "Why don't you tell us your whole story?"

Love Heart and Confidence Heart sat down next to the fire as Aqua extinguished it and he, Zoey and Redemption told their story. It took a couple hours to get through everything and neither older Care Bears could resist shedding a few tears over the cruelty inflicted on the young trio.

"…and that's when you showed up," Aqua finished.

Love Heart rubbed his eyes but smiled, "I guess you don't have to worry. You can come live with us."

"Where's that?" Redemption asked.

"Up in the Kingdom of Caring, that's where all of our kinds live. We're called Care Bears."

"But you're not a bear," Zoey pointed up at Confidence's ears.

"There's more than bears up there, they're called the Care Bear Cousins, among other things, but that's…" Confidence Heart stood up, instantly alert, her ears twitching and swivelling.

"What?" Aqua asked.

"Shhh, I hear something," Confidence whispered. It was the soft crunch of sand, then a click.

"GET DOWN!" Confidence shouted.

Zoey and Redemption all dropped as the sound of gunfire was heard around them, with Aqua throwing up a wall of ice in front of them darts shooting out from the guns of the armed mercenaries as they ran up the beach into the clearing. Love Heart had his swords out in an instant and began deflecting the tranquilizer darts as they flew at them. Confidence formed her arm and shin guards and began jumping around to dodge and deflect them off her armor.

"We have to get them out of here!" Love Heart shouted. There were about a dozen men armed with tranquilizer pistols blocking the way to the beach, each taking shots in volleys to give the others a chance to reload.

"Get a cloud car ready! I'll hold them off!" Confidence shouted.

"I won't leave you behind!" Love Heart shouted back, even as he conjured a cloud car from his symbol, "Get in!" He shouted over his shoulder, still deflecting darts.

"What?! How?!" Redemption asked, still keeping her head down.

Love Heart bared his teeth, "Cover me, Confidence, I'm gonna try and push them back!"

"Right!" Confidence jumped in front of Love Heart as a small funnel of wind kicked up around her, blocking the latest volley of darts.

"We need to go for lethal shots!" One of the mercs said.

"No! Illyana will had our heads if-" He didn't get any farther as an electrical whirring noise filled the air. Love Heart stepped forwards with a blue orb of lightning in his hands that he hurled at he ground. All of the mercenaries screamed in pain as the orb enveloped them, paralysing them for the moment.

"Now! Move! What the?!" Love Heart paused for just a moment as he saw the wall of ice that Aqua had formed, which quickly melted once Love Heart had given the order. He shook it off as he and Confidence all but dragged the three into the cloud car, after Zoey managed to grab the pink crystal, and forcefully buckled them in. Love Heart was in the driver's seat and was about to take off when his lightning orb faded and the mercenaries managed to shake off the pain and continue the assault.

Confidence Heart shot off a small burst of air then charged right at them, which took them by surprise enough that they weren't sure where to aim, which gave Love Heart his opening to launch.

"What about Confidence?" Zoey asked, unable to look out as she was sat in the middle of the backseat.

"I'll go back for her once we're high enough," Love Heart said.

Aqua wasn't listening and he stretched his hand over the side, pointing right at the mercenaries, "Dolphin Fire!" a red a blue flame shot out and exploded right on top of the mercenaries, blowing them down and giving Confidence the opening to jump up and fly towards the cloud car.

"Thanks for the save, Aqua?" Confidence smirked as she flew up and into the passenger's seat.

"So you can fly. Is that magic too?" Aqua asked.

"Yep," Confidence winced slightly as she heard another shot from below, the bullet going wide, "Talk later, run now."

"Hold your fire!" Back down on the island, the mercenary leader waved for his men to stop. "Great, they can fly now."

"What do we do?" one of his men asked.

"We report back and hope we get to keep our heads." The leader turned and walked back down the beach to where the rowboat they'd used to come over from the ship had been moored.

OoOoO

Aqua and Redemption clung to the sides of the cloud car and Zoey clung to Aqua as the cloud car flew into the sky. "Where are we going!?"

"Into the sky!" Confidence Heart shouted with a grin, "Look there's the Kingdom of Caring!" she pointed to the bank of clouds ahead of them.

The three calmed considerably once they landed and Love Heart and Confidence helped them out of the car.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Caring," the voice came from Life Heart Unicorn, who stood nearby.

"Mom," Love Heart smiled, "Meet the three newest members of the Care Bear Family."

Aqua, Zoey and Redemption stared at Life Heart, Zoey being the first one to speak, "What are you?"

Life Heart smiled and stepped forwards, "My name is Life Heart Unicorn, I'm Love Heart's mother. Oh, what's this," She crouched in front of Aqua Bear, "Did you get that symbol from dolphins?"

Aqua blinked and stared at her, "Yes, how did you know?"

"I've seen something like it before," Life Heart reached out and touched Aqua's tummy symbol, a dolphin jumping through a ring of fire, "It was aeons ago that dolphins used to practise immortal magic, like my own and that of the Pegasus. They used to bestow this emblem to only the most worthy of their kind," she sighed, "Sadly their magic has waned to minimal in the recent centuries and almost no one can hear their voices anymore."

"They used this to give us our symbols," Zoey held up the pink crystal she had been carrying since they fled the island.

"Oh," Life Heart turned to Zoey, "May I see that please?" She saw Zoey withdraw the crystal defensively, "I promise I'll give it back."

"Ok," Zoey handed the crystal to Life Heart.

Life Heart held the crystal for a moment and gave it back to her, "It's inert now. I'm happy they finally found someone worthy to inherit their power, Aqua, as well as your mate and," she smiled as she looked down at Zoey's small baby bump, "Your child."

"Wait, you're pregnant?!" Love Heart's sudden shout made them all jump as he stared at Zoey.

"Yeah, I guess we forgot to mention that," Zoey laughed.

"Well we need to get you three to Take Care for a check up," Love Heart pointed to the large hospital near where they had landed.

"Is Take Care a doctor?" Redemption asked as they started towards the hospital.

"Yes, she is," Confidence said.

OoOoO

Take Care exited the exam room to see Love Heart and Confidence Heart still standing in the waiting room.

Love Heart didn't waste any time, "Take Care, can you tell me anything about them?" He kept his tone polite and level with visible effort.

Take Care folded her arms, "I can tell you the basic information, but anything else you'll have to ask them. They're Magi, that's for certain, and they're all about 15-years old." Take Care went to enter the new information into her computer system at the reception desk, "Redemption kept asking about all the tools I was using," she commented idly, "As for Zoey, she's about 15 weeks pregnant so she has about 25 weeks to go. I gave her more specific information but other than that they're all healthy."

"Isn't she a bit young to have a kid?" Confidence Heart asked.

"Only by modern human standards," Take Care didn't look up from her computer, "Humans used to have children at much younger ages without uproar compared to today, that and animals often have children at much younger ages, at least relative to humans, and from what I've been told they've essentially been wild animals until today, barring their capitivity." Take Care looked up at Love Heart and Confidence, "Zoey isn't in any danger or trouble, she's just going to be a young mother. Is there anything else."

Love Heart shook his head, "Nothing else, but I need to talk to them."

"Go ahead. Get Well's just giving Zoey an ultrasound," Take Care gestured to the door then went back to her computer.

"I'm gonna head home and see how the kids are doing," Confidence gave Love Heart a kiss then headed out the front door while Love Heart entered the exam room.

Zoey giggled as Get Well ran the paddle over her tummy and looked at the black and white image on the screen, "Is that my cub?"

Get Well smiled, "Yes, so far. Love Heart, is everything alright?"

Love Heart nodded, "I just have a couple questions for them, it won't take long." Love Heart turned to Redemption, as Aqua was standing by Zoey's side as she got her ultrasound reading. "Redemption, can you tell me more about your friend, Lily? The one who taught you magic."

"Not much more than we already told you," she had to look away from Zoey and Aqua and up at Love Heart, "But she had a star on her forehead like yours."

"What?" Love Heart reached up to touch his unicorn star.

"Is that special?" Redemption asked.

"It's a unicorn star, I only have it because my mother's a unicorn," Love Heart lowered his hand, "If she had one… how can she have one?" He shook his head. "But I do have something else to tell all of you. Joining the Care Bear Family means you get to pick a name that defines who you are," Love Heart noticed that he now had their full attention, "Confidence Heart used to be called Cassandra Avalon so you can pick a new name if you want."

"I'm still gonna be Aqua," Aqua Bear said.

Redemption shook her head, "I'll stay the same too, Redemptionheart Bear."

"Not me," Zoey smirked, "I think I want to be, Lonesomeheart Bear."

Love Heart smiled, "That's fine, now for you, Redemptionheart Bear, I need to give you your tummy symbol."

Redemption touched her pink tummy, "You mean I get one too?"

Love Heart nodded as his symbol glowed, "Just hold still." A moment later a white light shot out of Love Heart's tummy symbol. It flew around Redemptionheart for a moment then settled on her tummy and formed her symbol: two eagle feathers tickling a laughing star.

"It feels warm," Redemption touched her new tummy symbol.

"You'll be trained how to use them later, among other things" Love Heart was about to speak again when his tummy symbol started glowing red, "Another one?" he whispered, "Excuse me I have to go." He turned and made a hasty exit.

"We're done here," Get Well said, as she wiped the get off Lonesome's tummy, "I can get someone to give you a tour of the Kingdom of the Caring if you like."

"Yes!" Lonesome almost jumped off the exam table, only being slowed by Aqua Bear. "Do we have a house?"

"I think there's a couple spare from couples that moved in together, I'll have to ask Noble Heart," Get Well dug her heartphone out and dialed Noble Heart's number.


	13. Love Heart's Last Mission

A/N: much of the backstory from this chapter can be found in an old series. For those who wish to read it for themselves I can give the links in notes or in comments. Melany is my own character but the other new characters introduced belong to an old friend, Sue Wehking

Chapter 13: Love Heart's Last Mission

Illyana had listened to the report from her mercenaries about the attack on the island where her old prizes had been found. The appearance of more exotic animals that could fight back intrigued her, especially the reports that they came from the sky. She had done her homework and she knew they were Care Bears. She found it contemptable that the U.N. recognized them as a nation or even sentient species, not that it would stop her.

She heard the tired and strained laughter from Lily as she entered the torture chamber, seeing the man in the control booth monitoring her.

"Ms. Illyana," He turned to her, "I was just about to finish up her torture session for the day. She still won't talk." He moved to push the 'stop' button.

Illyana grabbed his hand, "No, don't stop. In fact," she reached for the controls and turned up the intensity.

Over the years, Lily had been reduced to an emaciated husk, barely kept alive and only capable of speaking in a hoarse whisper when she wasn't laughing. Her chest nd stomach ached constantly from the daily torture sessions, even breathing was a chore most of the time as her breath was short and thin.

What little relief she anticipated was shattered as the tickling machine sped up on her and she let out roars of laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAAAAAA!" Her laughter started to become more hoarse as her eyes went wide. She forced herself to stare at her captors as Illyana watched her and her vision began to fade. Her lungs were burning and the pain in her chest intensified. She felt a rush of air as one of her ribs completely broke off her rib cage and pierced her lung.

"Aahahahahaaaaaaa..."

Her breath deflated as her vision faded away, the last thing she saw was Illyana's sinister glare as she slumped limp in her shackles.

In the silence that followed, the operator shut the machine off then went to inspect her, "She's dead."

"Good, take that carcass off there and keep it somewhere safe." Illyana turned to leave the room, "Get the new machine and AI ready. We will have new guests soon."

OoOoO

Love Heart had woken up too early and couldn't go back to sleep. He and Confidence were still embracing each other when he woke up but now he lay on his back and just stared up at the ceiling; Confidence Heart had rolled over but hadn't noticed her husband was awake. Love Heart sighed then slid out of bed, he had to use the bathroom.

Love Heart didn't stop thinking even as he dried off after his shower and re-entered the bedroom to find Confidence Heart awake and staring at him as she propped her head up on her arm.

"Good morning, darling," Confidence giggled.

Love Heart gave a brief smile, "Good morning."

Confidence sat up as Love Heart sat on the foot of the bed, "What's wrong, Love Heart?"

Love Heart sighed. They could always read each other so there was no point in hiding it. "I'm worried if I'm going to keep being a good father or not."

"Really?" Confidence's tone changed from concern to apathy, "After 10 years with Mira you're worried about that now? It is because of Shimmers?"

"Partly. It's more that I'm worried that with things picking up around here and all these lost Care Bears to find I'm not going to be around enough for them, especially Shimmers." Love Heart stared at the floor.

"It hasn't been that long." Confidence turned sideways and slid next to her husband, "You've been doing great, why so worried now?"

"Remember when you looked after Meek and Wild for about a week three years ago?"

Confidence Heart smiled, "Yeah, that was a fun week. You were off with your parents right?"

"I was I…" Love Heart took a deep breath, "I needed to hash out some grievances. I wanted to be understanding but… mom and dad hid away from me for over a decade and I thought they were dead. Your parents were great…" both of them tensed up remembering how things had ended, "But I still wish I could have grown up with my parents, and known my sister when she was younger. I wanted to be a real big brother and I wanted my parents around.

"We went down to a hotel and I just unloaded on them, everything I missed and had wanted when I was growing up and how much I wished things had been different. I know dad was just trying to protect mom but it was selfish to not even come back and look for me and Indy." Love Heart clenched his fists in his lap. "The thing is," he relaxed, "They apologized for everything and didn't even scold me, well until I told them and apologized for being so mad. But now, I'm worried that one of these missions will be the end for me. What if Mental Heart gets the drop on me or Andross drops a bomb on my head or…" he shook his head, "I don't want to leave our kids alone, or leave you…"

Confidence Heart took Love Heart's head in her hand and turned him to face him, "Love Heart," she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, "That's very sweet of you, but you're worrying too much."

"I know, but I think I know what to do." Love Heart smiled, "I'll go on one last mission to find lost Care Bears today and after that I'm staying at home. No more missions, no more going out searching for trouble, I'm going to be a stay at home dad and armchair general until the kids grow up."

"You sure about this?" Confidence Heart asked, "What about the U.N.?"

Love Heart rolled his eyes, "I can still make it to the meetings, but that's not every day. I'll be here to look after them and protect the Kingdom of Caring. Defender can be the field leader from now on and I'll dispatch everyone else to deal with problems. In fact," Love Heart stood up, "I'll go tell him right now and search out the last Care Bears I'm going to rescue."

"Don't forget about me," Confidence Heart headed for the bathroom, "I'll take you up on that too. Gonna stay home unless things get serious."

Love Heart smiled. He would have joined Confidence in the shower but he had more important things to take care of now. Two of those things he found standing outside their bedroom door, clearly having been listening in on them.

"Well good morning," Love Heart looked down at them, "something wrong? Need a change, Shimmers?"

"No," Shimmering Star Bear shuffled awkwardly.

"You're giving up being a Magi?" Miracle Heart Kitsune looked up at him with worry, "You don't need to look after us, I'm a big girl, daddy."

"I know you are, both of you," Love Heart tousled their headfur, "But I don't want to risk missing anything with you two. I know you can look after both of you, Mira, but I want to be here for you two like I have been since you were born. I promise this isn't because of you, this is something I want to do." He crouched down and hugged them both, "Now let's get you some breakfast then I'll go and finish my last mission."

OoOoO

Love Heart didn't need to do much to handle the changeover. Defender Bear was all too willing to take over as the field commander from Love Heart and once that was finished he reached out with his tummy symbol… and found two locations with lost Care Bears. Suspecting that the Great Wishing Star was going to make his last mission day a memorable one, Love Heart took Anger Heart with him and the two took off, without cloud cars, to find them.

Anger Heart was visibly uncomfortable as they flew, "Couldn't we just take the Cloud Cars?"

Love Heart shook his head, "Flying takes less energy from us and we need to be able to summon them if things get bad, and I don't want to get caught belted to my seat when Mental Heart shows up."

"Right…" Anger Heart glowered but didn't protest, "How much farther to the first destination?"

Love Heart's tummy symbol glowed red as he focused into it, "Not too much farther… there." He slowed to a stop over a small town. Anger Heart almost flew past him but swung his feet forwards so the jets of fire coming out of his feet slowed him to a stop.

"So where are they?" Anger Heart looked down below at the town below.

"Not sure, I'm trying to sort out both signals from each other, I just know it's down there somewhere." Love Heart was also scanning the ground below them.

Anger Heart growled and folded his arms, "You couldn't be a little more precise?"

"Quiet, Lieutenant." Love Heart didn't look up.

Anger Heart shut up. Love Heart never called anyone by their official rank unless things were serious.

Love Heart began to descend closer to earth and Anger Heart followed. Finally, Love Heart stopped and turned to where a cluster of noise was coming from. "some sort of commotion over there. We should check it out."

"General, do you think she's over there?" Anger Heart's tone was serious.

Love Heart shook his head, "I don't know but if there's trouble over there we should try to help whoever's over there."

"Of course, Sir."

Love Heart smiled, "You can drop the sir, Anger Heart." He took off towards the commotion, followed by Anger Heart.

The commotion and crowd was gathered around a four story building. Love Heart's first instinct was to search for any police officers nearby. Spotting a squad car, Love Heart and Anger Heart landed some distance away and approached on foot.

"Excuse me, officers," Love Heart raised his voice as he came close enough for the man and woman in uniform to hear him. When the officer turned to face them, Love Heart spoke up again, "I'm Love Heart Bear from the Kingdom of Caring and this is Anger Heart Fox. What's going on here?"

The female officer was the first to speak, "We have a young woman on top of that building named Melany who's threatening to jump. We can't get anyone up there without risking her jumping.

"Maybe we can help," Anger Heart offered.

The woman officer was skeptical but her male partner spoke up, "I trust them to try. The Care Bears convinced me not to run away from home when I was ten, if anyone can stop that girl from jumping it's them."

The woman sighed then turned to the two Magi, "Can you help?"

"Yes…" Love Heart paused, "If the lost Care Bear is here they should notice us if we help here. Anger Heart, go and talk her down, I have to get to the second location before Mental Heart finds them." Without another word, Love Heart flew up into the sky, vanishing above the clouds.

"HEY! DON'T JUST… uggg," Anger Heart grumbled.

"Still trust them?" the female officer asked,

"Just watch me! I can do this," Anger Heart took a deep breath then jumped up as fire jets shot out of his feet and he flew up to the top of the building.

"Flying Bears and Foxes," the female officer shook her head as her partner picked up his radio.

"We've sent a specialist in to talk to the jumper, keep an eye on her."

Anger Heart landed on the top of the building and spotted Melany right away. He couldn't make out her appearance because she had her back to him and wore a grey hoodie with the hood draw up.

Anger Heart approached her, "Melany, I'm-"

"Stay back!" Melany's voice was high and sharp, "I'm going to jump!"

"Don't!" Anger Heart stepped forwards. "You can't do this!" This was new territory for Anger Heart and he was doing his best to keep a level head. Fighting was one thing, he knew how to fight, even raising his son wasn't this hard, at least there one mistake could be fixed and he had years to try to make things right. Now? Now one mistake could cost this girl her life.

"Can't I?" Melany's voice trembled, "I have nothing left, no home, no money, nowhere to go. Even if I step back they'll just shove me in an asylum to find out why I tried to kill myself instead of helping me." Anger Heart could tell by her voice that she was crying.

Anger Heart took a deep breath, moving slowly towards her in the hopes she wouldn't jump from the sound of his approach. He felt his tail twitch, a reminder of how hard it was to control such a dangerous situation. "I know it's bad, but if you jump then that's it, it's over. You won't have a chance to fix things or make things better. I know things seem bad but… if you end it now then you'll never have a chance to make things better."

"You can't understand how I feel!" Melany's shout made Anger Heart freeze in place. He was only two meters from her, he could have lunged at her to grab her but that might make things worse. "I spent my whole life being picked on for being different, then for not being the special kind of different that meant something. I heard there were people like me here so I spent everything I had, everything but the clothes on my back and I find out they left this place years ago… I have nothing…no chances left…I won't live on the street but I will let it take me."

Anger Heart watched as Melany stepped off the ledge. "NO!" He shouted and ran as she jumped. Blue fire shot out the bottoms of Anger Heart's feet and he flew faster than her ever had over the ledge. Time slowed down around as he saw that Melany had only fallen one story by the time he appeared over the ledge. His tail automatically split into eight as he rocketed down to catch her, grabbing hold of her shoulders when they were halfway to the ground.

"What?!" Melany felt herself wrenched upwards as Anger Heart pulled her into a full nelson and swung his legs down to point the fire jets at the ground as he fought to slow their descent.

They hit the ground hard, not hard enough to break anything but enough to send a shockwave through Anger Heart's legs and back as he cushioned her fall. He stood there, holding her and lowering her to the ground.

Melany was panting, "Why… why did you do that… how did you do that?" she turned to face him and balked.

Anger Heart was still shaking off the pain when Melany lowered her hood, then he saw her face. "You're a Care Bear!"

Melany was a dark blue Care Bear with blue eyes. She stared at Anger Heart for a moment then turned away from him, "No, I'm not. If I was special enough to be a Care Bear you would have found me before…"

"That's not true." Anger Heart said and was about to continued when Melany rounded on Anger Heart, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Yes it is! You have no idea what my life has been like! Always being teased and picked on for being different! Told by everyone that you're not special enough to be a Care Bear!" Melany broke down and fell to her knees, "I heard there were more rejected Care Bears here so I spent everything I had to find them, but they left years ago! No one can understand what my life has been like…"

Anger Heart felt his blood boil at the woman's tirade, his teeth bared and fists clenched. Then he stopped and stared at the bear, small and broken as everyone kept their distance, waiting to see what Anger Heart would say.

"I do understand," Anger Heart said. Melany looked up, her eyes puffy from her tears, and Anger Heart continued, "I grew up on earth. I was teased, bullied and tormented by the kids my own age for years, me and my friend Germaine. I used to be called Alex Kitun and I didn't even know what I was until the Care Bears found me."

"But why?" Melany stared up at him, "Why didn't you find me sooner? Why not until now when I almost killed myself?"

Anger Heart sighed sadly, "I don't know. I asked myself that a lot after they found me but all I can say is that we can't be everywhere at once." He offered a hand to the sad blue bear, "But we can start now, no matter what it takes."

"Excuse me," A male police captain approached the two, "But after this we need to take her in. She's mentally unstable and she needs to be taken in for her own protection."

Anger Heart saw the sudden fear in Melany's eyes and moved to put himself between her and the captain. "No, she's coming with me."

The captain looked nonplussed, "She's an American citizen and is under my authority. I think-"

Anger Heart cut him off, his rage starting to boil again as he recited the lines Love Heart had told them all to use in this situation: "I am Lieutenant Anger Heart Fox of the Care Bear Magi and by authority granted to us under the U.N. I have the right to evacuate any member of the Care Bear Family to the Kingdom of Caring due to threats against our lives made by enemies of our country." Anger Heart reached into his tummy symbol and pulled out the card with the order written on it he always carried.

The captain read the card then sighed, "Very well. But get her out of here now or I will have to take her on for psychiatric evaluation."

Anger Heart stowed the card and turned back to Melany, "Do you want to come to the Kingdom of Caring?"

Melany stood up, "Yes!" She dried her eyes as best she could on her shirt sleeve.

Anger Heart smiled, "Alright, just a sec." He concentrated on his tummy symbol and a moment later a cloud car materialized in front of him.

Melany watched him walk around to the driver's side and finally noticed the abnormal amount of tails attached to his butt. "Why do you have eight tails?"

Anger Heart stopped, with his hand on the door handle, and turned around. "Crap, lost control," he muttered, "I'm a kitsune, just a sec." He closed his eyes and with visible effort he forced the tails to merge into one again, "They make sitting down a huge pain." He got into the driver's seat and waited until Melany had buckled herself in. "Promise you'll hold on. I'll introduce you to everyone."

"I'll stay seated, I promise," Melany said. She sounded doubtful but she held on to the sides and gasped as the car lifted off the ground and flew up towards the clouds.

Melany's heart jumped into her throat as the car flew upwards but she held on. The wonder of what waited ahead was worth seeing, even if her thoughts drifted to the fact that the height they were at would make things easier…

Any such thoughts vanished from her mind as Anger Heart landed the cloud car at the parking lot in Care-a-Lot then escorted her out of the car. "Welcome to Care-a-Lot, Melany."

"Oh my…" the sight took Melany's breath away even as Anger Heart pulled her away from the parking lot.

"We need to introduce you to the leaders and get your checked up at the hospital." Anger Heart saw the worry on Melany's face and did his best to reassure her, "It's standard procedure, but I will have to tell them about what you tried to do."

Melany gulped, "OK."

OoOoO

"Can you teach me to be a doctor?" Redemptionheart Bear stood in Take Care's waiting room as the doctor worked on her computer.

Take Care sighed. This was becoming a daily annoyance with the grey and purple bear. She turned to Redemption and the young bear continued, "I've always wanted to be a doctor, I can be your apprentice!"

"No, you can't," Take Care stated bluntly, "I can't just let you in to my office on the spot, there's dangerous equipment in here. I can't just train you either, you have to study and work for years to even be allowed to interact with patients, let alone treat them!" Her voice was become more irritable with each word. Thankfully, Get Well Bear stepped in.

"Mom, I can handle this."

"Please do," Take Care turned back to the computer on the reception desk.

Get Well led Redemption away from Take Care, "This is a bad time, Redemption, we have a lot to look after, especially with a bunch of newborns on the way. If you really want to be a doctor I can help you study so you can get into school."

"Why can't I learn here?" Redemption stared up at Get Well, who was a head taller than her.

"Because this isn't a place where we have the space or time to teach, and mom and I have to look after everyone else, we don't have time to be teachers. We can help you study but you have to promise to stop dropping by every day and bothering us." Get Well was about to continue when Anger Heart entered the waiting room.

"Excuse me, Get Well, Take Care, I want you two to meet Melany." He let go of the dark blue bear's hand.

Melany waved nervously, "Hello."

"Another new family member," Get Well smiled, "Hello, my name is Get Well Bear."

"And I'm Take Care Bear," Take Care stood up from the reception desk, "I'm the head doctor here in the Kingdom of Caring. I assume you're here for the newcomer's check-up."

Melany nodded, "Yes."

"Noble Heart and True Heart weren't home, but I do need to talk to you, Take Care," Anger Heart turned to the doctor.

"Then I'll conduct the tests, please follow me, Melany," Get Well led the bear to the exam room.

Once they were certain the two were out of earshot, Take Care turned back to Anger Heart, "Alright, what's wrong?"

"She tried to kill herself, Take Care." Anger Heart's expression was serious as he continued. "I found her on top of a building, ready to jump off and…she did."

Take Care tensed up, awful memories of Brave Heart tragic caring mission racing through her mind.

"I was just barely able to fly down and catch her, still hit the ground pretty hard, not hard enough to break anything but still…" he looked down for a moment then back up at Take Care.

"I…see," Even Take Care couldn't help but feel rattled by this news, "I'll have to have a talk with her. Thank you for telling me."

"Right… I need to go," Anger Heart turned around and headed out the door.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Redemptionheart standing in front of the hospital and trying to make her tummy symbol work. It flashed for a moment then stopped. "Come on, work!" she pressed her symbol then tried again.

"What are you trying to do?" Anger Heart asked.

"I need to go back home, I left something important there. I just need to create a cloud car." Redemptionheart started trying to make her symbol work again.

Anger Heart sighed, if he left her alone she'd probably just hurt herself even if she did make a cloud car successfully. "I can take you there, just calm down." Anger Heart easily created a cloud car and got into the driver's seat.

"Thank you," Redemption got in the passenger seat. Anger Heart took a moment to text Guidance about why he'd be late getting home then they took off.

OoOoO

"I'm getting close, I should have been more precise," Love Heart flew across the countryside. A whirring noise drew Love Heart's attention and he slowed to a stop.

"Looking for something, Care Bear?"

Love Heart groaned as the high pitched voice, "I don't time to deal with you, Shrieky." He turned to see Shrieky standing in the bike-copter wit Beastly driving, as usual.

Shrieky cackled, "Oh you'll find time!" She fired off a blast of purple lightning at the green bear. Love Heart easily dodged and fired back with his own blast of blue lightning.

Electricity arced back and forth across the sky as Love Heart dodged and retaliated against Shrieky. "Enough of this!" Love Heart shot forwards and grabbed the collar of Shrieky's shirt. "Shrieky, just give up and go back to your castle. You can't beat me and I'm not even trying."

Shrieky sneered, "Then maybe you should, because I know your weakness." Before Love Heart could stop her Shrieky pulled a handful of gold dust out of her pocket and blew it in his face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Love Heart screamed in pain as Shrieky blew the rest of the gold across his body. His entire skin burned and he lost control of his flight, then plummeted towards earth.

"Eehahahahaha!" Shrieky watched Love Heart fall, "One Care Bear down, and the leader of their army." She sat down in the passenger car, "Let's go back to my castle, Beastly, I want to enjoy this victory."

"Right away, Shrieky," Beastly's sounded resigned, but Shrieky neither noticed or cared.

Love Heart tried to focus through the pain, but the burning was overpowering his senses. He knew he was falling but he even if he could fly he had no idea if he'd be flying up or down as he spun through the air. The best he could do was force all his concentration to slow his fall so at least it would be non-fatal.

Down on earth, a group of colorful children were playing in front of a house that should have been too small for them.

"I told you, it was lightning!" One of the boys, a lavender wolf argued.

"Can't be, it's a clear day out!" Another of the boys, an orange weasel, shot back as he pointed up at the sky.

The wolf turned, then saw the small growing dot flying down towards them. It only took him a moment to figure out what was going to happen, "LOOK OUT!" He grabbed the weasel's arm and pulled him to the side, hurling the both of them to the ground.

His shout drew their attention as Love Heart hit the ground not too far from where they had been standing, bouncing once then slamming to a stop on his stomach. Love Heart could barely make out what was going on around him but he forced himself up as the gold continued to burn his skin, seeing the two children standing up nearby he reached for them. "Help me…" he begged.

Five more children joined the group, and all of them recoiled at the smell of Love Heart's burning flesh.

"Don't go near him!" one of the girls, a red fox, said, "he could be a demon!"

"He's a bear," Another boy, a yellow goat said, "is he gold?" he was the first to notice the gold dust covering the bear's body.

A blue badger boy approached, "how can we help?"

Love Heart tried to push himself up again but fell down and croaked out, "please… get this stuff off me… use water…"

"I got it!" the other girl, a pink skunk, ran off, followed by a green hedgehog who was missing his entire right forearm.

The pink skunk reached the hose attached to the side of the house and began unreeling it. Seeing the hedgehog had come with her she handed the nozzle to him, "I got this," he said as he ran across the lawn, the pink skunk just barely able to give him enough slack to keep the hose from catching before she turned the water on full blast. The hedgehog stopped right next to Love Heart and aimed at the bear with his only hand before he squeezed.

The powerful jet of water hit Love Heart dead on and brought with it a sense of relief. The green hedgehog hosed him down for a while before the weasel took over to spray every inch of him, before he was rolled over onto his back by the badger and goat so his front could be sprayed clean as well. It lasted almost five minutes before Love Heart was able to stand and stumbled away from where he had been lying, and the sparkling gold dust that covered the ground before he fell to his hands and knees gasping for air.

"I think that did it," the badger said.

"Really? You think?" the weasel snarked as he stopped the spray as he gave a sideways look to the badger.

"What is going on out here? Oh my goodness!" The voice came from an old navy blue bear with brown eyes wearing a white and brown old style 'school marm' dress and brown plastic rimmed glasses. She moved surprisingly fast for someone of her age, even dropping her cane on the porch as she approached the soaked green bear and crouched down to help him stand. Her voice carried a strength with it but clearly showed her age, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Love Heart looked up at the aged bear, even through the haze of his pain he could make out wrinkles under her facial fur. He coughed, "I need a shower, to get this stuff off me."

The old bear was shocked by the appearance of the green bear but quickly composed herself, "Yes, you can use ours. Passive, Curious please help him in."

"Yes mom," the badger and wolf both replied and moved to support Love Heart as he walked inside.

"What is this stuff?" The pink skunk walked over to the saturated ground and crouched down, swiping her finger across the gold dust in the almost muddy ground. "It looks like gold." She stood up and turned around.

"Careful, that stuff could be poison!" the weasel took aim with the hose and sprayed the skunk's hand with a narrow stream.

The skunk jumped back once her hand was blasted and glared at the weasel, "Watch it, you almost soaked my dress!"

Before the weasel could fire back, the elderly bear spoke up, "Thorough Heart! Pretty Heart! That's enough!" She didn't raise her voice too much but she did get her point across as she sat down in the large chair on the front porch of their home, grabbing the cane she had left there. "This is serious, that bear is… he's the first other being of our kind we've ever seen. I want to know why he's here so please be polite and presentable when he's back on his feet. Now tell me, please, what happened out here?"

Thorough Heart Weasel pointed at the sky with the hose nozzle still in his hand, "He fell from up there, almost hit me and Curious while we were arguing about lightning in the sky."

"Then he started groaning in pain and asked us to spray him with water to get 'this stuff' off him," Pretty Heart Skunk said. "So Grateful and I got the hose and sprayed him down, and that's when you came out."

"I see," the old bear nodded. She turned to see the worried look on the red fox's face. "Charity Heart, what's wrong?"

"He fell from the sky. How did he survive?" Charity Heart Fox folded her arms.

Thorough Heart blinked, "You know, she's right. How did he survive that?"

"We can ask him when he's done, just please be patient and don't be rude when he comes out." Teacher Bear leaned back in her chair

Though the burning had mostly stopped after his hose down, Love Heart still felt much better after washing what was left of the gold out of his fur. "Just hope this doesn't leave any scars," he shut off the water and opened the shower curtain. He saw over half a dozen towels hanging on the bars by the bathtub and shook his head. "Not enough time for that." He swung his hand upwards and a small spiral of air dried all the water off his body before he stepped out onto the bath mat.

"Wow! How did you do that?" Love Heart saw that the bathroom door was open a crack and the lavender wolf was peeking in.

Love Heart couldn't help but smile as he walked over to the door and opened it, "Magic."

"Really?" The voice came from the blue badger who was standing near the wolf.

Love Heart nodded, "Really."

"What's that tattoo on your stomach?" The wolf pointed at the cluster of hearts on Love Heart's belly.

"It's my tummy symbol," Love Heart touched the symbol.

"What does it do? How did you fall from the sky? Why were you naked?" The wolf persisted.

"You're just full of question aren't you?" Love Heart said.

"He is," the Badger confirmed. "Mom said she wanted to see you when you were clean."

"Well show me to her, then I'll answer all your questions, OK?" Love Heart said.

"OK," The wolf grabbed Love Heart's hand and led him to the front door.

"Wait, don't you want to get dressed?" The badger asked as he followed them.

The elderly blue bear was startled when Love Heart emerged from the front door led by Curious Heart Wolf at a hurry. Love Heart stood there, then turned to the bear sitting on the porch chair. Things were silent for a moment as Passive Heart Badger exited the building and went to join the rest of the cubs on the front lawn.

Love Heart finally offered a hand to the old bear, "Hello, miss…"

"Oh," the bear took his hand and shook it, "Bluebelle Mulcahey, but most people call me Teacher Bear. And you are?"

"My name is Love Heart Bear." Love Heart saw Teacher Bear smile as he said his name, "What?"

"Oh, it's just a funny coincidence. I'd like you to meet my adopted children," she gestured to the seven cubs one by one who all had their attention on the two older bears on the porch. "Grateful Heart Hedgehog, Thorough Heart Weasel, Curious Heart Wolf, Pretty Heart Skunk, Hungry Heart Billygoat, Charity Heart Fox and Passive Heart Badger."

Love Heart stared at the seven who had lined up as Teacher Bear spoke their names. "Huh, that's odd, and convenient."

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?" Teacher Bear turned her head to face Love Heart.

Love Heart looked out at the cubs, "Most Care Bears living on Earth have more human names, like yours, Bluebelle, and only pick names like that once they join the Care Bear Family."

"Care Bears? Care Bear Family?" Teacher Bear stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Sorry, I got ahead of myself," Love Heart cleared his throat, "We're Care Bears, well the rest of you are Care Bear Cousins," Love Heart swept his arm towards the cubs on the lawn, "and we live up in the Kingdom of Caring, in the sky," Love Heart pointed upwards.

"You come from heaven?" Charity Heart strained to look upwards along with the rest of the cubs.

"How did you survive falling from all up there?" Curious Heart asked.

"Magic, I-"

Thorough Heart cut Love Heart off, "Magic isn't real!"

"Is too! I saw Love Heart using magic!" Curious Heart shot back.

"Magic doesn't exist!" Charity Heart joined in the argument.

Love Heart and Teacher Bear watched as the cubs started arguing. "Please, stop fighting about this!" Teacher Bear was about to start shouting when Love Heart stepped off the porch and held up his right hand over his head.

There was a sudden boom of thunder and a bright flash from Love Heart as blue lightning arced around him, dancing in a sphere around the green bear's body which ended the argument immediately as the cubs all turned to watch. After 30 seconds of this display, Love Heart stopped and collected the lightning into an orb in his right hand. "Magic is real, this is elecrokinesis and I'm a kineticist, a master of manipulating wind and lightning." He crushed the ball in his hand.

As everyone stared at Love Heart, Curious Heart was the first to speak, "See, I told you magic's real!"

Before another argument could break out, Love Heart continued. "I'm here because you're all in danger from a monster called Mental Heart, he's hunting others of our kind and he could be searching for us right now. For your own safety I would like you to come with me to the Kingdom of Caring as soon as you can."

"Excuse me," Teacher Bear had stood up, using her cane to support herself. "Love Heart Bear, I would appreciate you not scaring me and my children like that. But," she walked up to Love Heart's side, "I would like to take you up on your offer to relocate. Everyone, pack what you need and bring it out here as fast as possible." Teacher Bear smiled.

"Yes mom," the cubs all nodded and walked around the two bears into the house.

"Mom?" Love Heart turned to Teacher Bear, then helped her back to the porch.

"It's a long story, but I can tell it to you while they're packing, Oh," Teacher Bear noticed that Curious Heart Wolf had lingered on the porch. "Is something wrong, Curious?"

"What's that tattoo on your stomach," the lavender wolf repeated his question from earlier, seeming to have forgotten the answer.

"Oh, this, it's my tummy symbol. Every Care Bear gets one when they join the Care Bear Family, which reminds me." Curious Heart and Teacher Bear gasped as Love Heart stuck his hand into his tummy symbol and pulled out his heartphone.

"Does that hurt?" Curious Heart asked.

"No, it's special storage, a magic pocket where we store stuff, but don't you have packing to do?" Love Heart smiled down at the wolf.

"Oh, right!" Curious Heart bolted indoors.

Love Heart dialed the Hall of Hearts, "Love Heart Bear calling Hall of Hearts, is Bright Heart there?"

"Caught me on monitor duty," Bright Heart replied, "What's going on, Love Heart?"

"I just found eight lost family members and I need transport for them and their belongings. Might be a lot," Love Heart looked back into the house.

"The Rainbow Rescue Bear will be the best option. You'll have to be at the middle if we want to grab everyone in one go." Bright Heart said.

"Thanks, I'll call back when things are ready." Love Heart hung up the phone but didn't store it back in his tummy symbol. "Well everything's set now. Just need to wait for your kids. So how did you adopt those kids?"

"That a long story," Teacher Bear leaned back on the porch chair, "For now I'm just going to rest for this long journey."

"Looking forwards to the move?" Love Heart asked.

Teacher Bear smiled, then sighed sadly, "Yes. I mean, I love this town but it's so small these days… My little family is almost half of the people here now, all my old friends and family have passed on: Francis, Angelica, Charles Winchester, Max and Soon Lee" tears began to trickle from Bluebelle's eyes and she wiped them away. "I wanted the children to grow up and move on to have their own lives but none of them wanted to leave me alone, they wanted to look after me just like I did once for Mrs. Mulcahey…" She smiled, "If we move up to where you suggest, will I be looked after and will they be able to pursue their own lives?"

Love Heart smiled and nodded, "Yes, I promise."

Gathering up all their possessions took less time than Love Heart thought, a few bags and backpacks, Tuppermaid containers and some personal items like the stuffed cow that Charity Heart had were piled up on the front porch.

"So when's the ride coming?" Grateful Heart asked.

"Right away, just stand here." Love Heart helped Teacher Bear to her feet then dialed Bright Heart again. He couldn't help but smirk, "Bright Heart Raccoon, this is General Love Heart. One pile of possessions and nine to beam up."

Bright Heart laughed, "Transport in progress, General."

"General?" Teacher Bear turned to Love Heart.

"Beam? What?" Charity looked up to see a rainbow beam fly down from the sky and envelope them and all of their luggage. A tingle flew through them for a moment then they dissolved into the magic beam. Charity Heart and Grateful Heart tried to run but were frozen in place as they all dematerialized.

OoOoO

Anger Heart landed the cloud car on Redemptionheart's former home island and stepped out, "OK, find what you need and then we'll get out of here."

"Right," Redemptionheart darted over to her secret stash and dug around for her tickling implements, the eagle feathers and paintbrushes she had left behind. She was able to stash them in her tummy symbol without Anger Heart noticing. "Got them."

"Good, now let's get out of here." Anger Heart was about to conjure a new cloud car when he heard several sharp shots from nearby and felt two stinging pains in his side.

"Oh no, not again," Anger Heart pulled out the two tranquilizer darts from his side and turned to see the shooter. His rage began to boil up and he held up his hand as he conjured a blue fire bolt, only to stop when his tails started to hurt. This was still a human being.

That moment of hesitation was all that was needed as four of Illyana's mercenaries rushed both of them and held them down until the tranquilizers took their toll. The leader stood up, "Get them on the ship and hurry, Illyana's going to want to see them personally."


	14. New Friends and Old Enemies

A/N: This version of the chapter has had most of the tickle torture cut out for those who don't wish to read them, except for the first one which is needed to understand what's going on

Chapter 14: New Friends and Old Enemies

Love Heart and the Mulcaheys rematerialized on the much larger Rainbow Rescue Beam pad in the Hall of Hearts. While Teacher Bear leaned on her cane and took a deep breath the rest of her children all felt their fur to make sure it was still attached.

"What was that?! What happened?! Where are we!?" Charity Heart Fox was holding her stuffed cow, Moo Moo, to her chest, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Sorry, the first time can be a bit rough, but that's the rainbow rescue beam." Bright Heart stood at the controls to the machine.

Thorough Heart was the first to calm down, "So we teleported."

Bright Heart smiled, "Exactly. Don't worry everything is here. I called Lotsa and Champ to come an help with your stuff."

"And we're here, sports fan," Champ Bear and Lotsa Heart entered the control room where everyone was standing.

Lotsa Heart whistled, "There's a lot of you, and that's the truth. Don't worry we have a lot of empty rooms you can stay in until we get a house built for you."

"A house, rooms?" Curious Heart Wolf scratched his head, "what's going on?"

"Are we going to live here?" Grateful Heart Hedgehog asked, looking up at Love Heart and Teacher Bear who still stood on the pad.

Teacher Bear finally found her bearings and looked down at her children, all of whom were staring up at her now. She smiled, "I think we might, once we learn more about this place." She turned to Love Heart, "What did you say this place was called?"

"The Kingdom of Caring," Love Heart nodded to Champ and Lotsa, "Can you take their stuff into the guest rooms. I need to take the Mulcaheys to see Take Care Bear."

"Who's Take Care Bear?" Curious Heart asked.

"Probably their doctor," Thorough Heart raised a finger matter-of-factly.

"Exactly." Love Heart saw the nervous looks on their faces, "It's just a standard check-up for new arrivals. I need to see if Anger Heart found the other lost Care Bear we were looking for before I found you."

As Love Heart finally stepped off the platform he turned to off Teacher Bear help down, only to find Passive Heart Badger and Hungry Heart Billygoat already doing so. He smiled and started to lead them out of the Hall, when Teacher Bear caught up with him.

"Love Heart, excuse me but back on Earth did you say you were a General?" She asked.

Love Heart nodded then turned to her, "Yes. My full title is Prince General Love Heart Bear of the Kingdom of Caring, Commander in Chief of the Care Bear Magi." Love Heart saw the mix of emotions stream across Teacher Bear's face, fear, wonder, and some confusion before settling on some level of relaxed.

"I see. It just brings back memories," she started walking with Love Heart again, her children following close behind as she relayed her thoughts to those around her. "My adopted brother, Francis, was in the military. He served as an army chaplain in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War."

"That was Father Mulcahey!" Charity Heart practically jumped up, then became a bit sullen, as did the other cubs though they kept pace with the two older bears.

"Yes. I met most of his old friends from the army, mostly doctors and surgeons, so I just started thinking of that again. I didn't realize you had a full military up here." She turned to Love Heart.

Love Heart had his heartphone out but looked up to talk to Teacher when she finished speaking, "We do. Most of the Care Bear Family have the job of looking after children on Earth and helping them learn to care in various ways, and we do to sometimes but our primary job is to protect the rest of the Care Bear Family from our enemies, something that's becoming more important lately that it has been in years. We weren't formally organized as a military until about a decade ago, but that's a long story." He looked back to his heartphone and gawked at the answer he found. The Korean war being waged between the years of 1950-1953. He looked back at Teacher Bear in shock but thankfully she had turned to make sure her children were keeping up, who in turn were offering to help her keep up the pace due to her age. Just how old was she?

Love Heart at least was able to put the question aside as the hospital came into view, "We're here. Let's go see Take Care."

OoOoO

Anger Heart finally drifted back to consciousness, his head still full of fog as he shook it. He tried to rub his eyes, only to find his hands locked in place by metal shackles. His vision suddenly cleared and he strained to look up, seeing his hands each shackled down to the top of a long metal slab. He tried to move his feet and looked down to see his feet bound below him. His tail was free, and thankfully still only a single tail, but that was little comfort.

A groan to his left caused Anger Heart to turn and see Redemptionheart Bear bound in the exact same way on another slab, with a large machine set up between them. "Redemption? Redemption!" Anger Heart shouted.

Redemption snapped awake, "What? Where are we?" She struggled to move, but had as little success as Anger Heart did.

"I don't know, other than held prisoner," Anger Heart took a deep breath, calming his nerves before he accidentally started a fire, or gave away that he could.

"Simple, you're my prisoners." The high, shrill voice drew their attention to the woman wearing a business suit and a massive mink coat in front of them.

Redemption shrank back, as much as she could in her shackles, at the sight of her former, and now current, captor.

"Who the hell are you!?" Anger Heart bared his teeth despite his situation.

She gave a venomous glare to the fox, "My name is Illyana, but you don't ask the questions here. You are my prisoners and now you're going to answer my questions, or suffer the same fate as her." She snapped her fingers and a mercenary guard nearby tossed an emaciated red form to the ground in front of her. Illyana turned it over with an ivory cane she was carrying so it was face up.

"LILY!" Redemption shouted upon seeing the dead body of her friend and first magic teacher.

"I didn't need her anymore once I saw how many of you there were so I finished her off," she turned to face the captives again, "And I will do the same to you, first for you escaping and costing me a prized exhibit, and then," She turned to Anger Heart, "I know you come from that place in the sky where the rest of your kind lives and that you can't just fly there. You're going to tell me how to get there safely and how to disable any defenses you might have up there."

It was all Anger Heart could do to avoid trying to set her on fire as he spat back at her, "Fuck you! You psychotic bitch!"

Illyana bristled, "If you must have it that way. Claws, they're all yours and don't hold back."

A 43-inch widescreen monitor attached to a heavy flexible cable extended from the central machine, a green smiley face appearing on the screen. "Hi! I'm Claws," He spoke with a child-like mechanical voice.

Claws gave an evil smirk to Anger Heart. "Hello, Anger Heart Fox and Redemptionheart Bear, you will get to know me very well soon because you will be spending a very, very long time with me. I am the torture machine that will be punishing you and I am on strict orders to prolong the torture for as long as possible. Do you have anything to say for yourselves before we begin?"

Redemptionheart stared at Claw's screen, unable to speak past a lump of emotion in her throat. Anger Heart's own emotions boiled over again but he reigned it in enough to say, "I'm never going to betray my family."

The machine glared at the fox. "Oh no? Will see about that little fox." A mechanical hand reached out to scratch Anger Heart underneath the chin in mockingly. "But first, let's start by seeing where you two are most ticklish." Claws grinned evilly at Anger Heart, showing sharp teeth on its screen. Several long, skinny tendrils tipped with feathers extended from the central machine and moved towards the captive's armpits, then began flicking them in the prisoner's armpits.

Anger Heart bit his lip as the feathers began to flick into his armpits. He snickered slightly, "Heeheehee" then held back again, gritting his teeth against the torture.

Redemption, sadly, had her sweet spot found right away. Barely a moment of resistance went by before she started laughing, "HahahahahaAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

After only five seconds of tickling with the feathers on this spot, the feathers moved down and tested their sides poking up and down as the machine looked happily at the female bear. "Oh, I take it your underarms are your worst spot my dear?" The machine said, smiling evilly at the helpless bear as the feathers kept dancing on their sides testing their ticklishness.

Anger Heart was able to bears his teeth and resist laughing at the sides, Redemption even was a but less affected but still couldn't help laughing. "Heeheeheeheehaahahahaha."

"Hehe good, your giggling sweetly, but let's go down further shall we? I heard Care Bear feet can be quite sensitive and very ticklish. I bet your red soles are also sensitive aren't they?" Grinned the machine looking happily at his captive fox. The feathers went down to his soles tickling up and down, while the other ones tickled the front of the bear's toes.

Redemptionheart started shrieking with laughter again. "AhahahahahaHeeeeeeheeheeheehee!" But Anger Heart was unmoved. He had to grit again but his feet barely registered the flicking of the feathers on his soles.

Claws kept tickling Redemptionheart but moved his screen down to look at Anger Heart's foot pads. "Ohh I see. You've been on your feet a lot in your life." One of the tendrils prodded the heavily callused paw pads. "Well we're going to have to fix that." Claws' attention was diverted form Redemption for a moment as several sheets of sandpaper on rollers came out on the end of new tendrils.

Anger Heart sucked in air through his teeth as the rotary sanders ground into his feet. It was a slight tingle at first but then it became painful as his calluses were ground off all of his feet, leaving nothing but fresh soft skin behind.

"Now, let's test your feet again shall we?" Said the machine teasingly as the feathers began to wiggle and dance up and down on Anger Heart's feet as the feathers kept tickling and sawing in between Redmeptionheart's toes.

Anger Heart tried to hold back, but the feathers on his newly sensitive feet were too much and he burst out laughing. "AaaaahahahahahahaHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

And Redemptionheart was laughing right alongside him.

"Oh good, you're sensitive point little foxy is your feet, and the bear's are her arm pits." The machine grinned happily removing all feathers for the time being. "Now its time to focus on those." Said the machine happily as he got out two big bristle brushes that began to scrub back and forth on the fox's soles. While for Redemptionheart, a pair of metal claws wiggled in front of her tauntingly as they began to pat, and snake up and down her smooth under arms. "Cootchie cootchie coo my wittle ticklish captives." Said the machine looking into Redemptionheart's eyes happily.

OoOoO

Melony was nervous as she sat in Take Care's exam room. Take Care had finished the physical exam some time ago and was looking at the results. Melony gulped when Take Care set the results down. "You're a little underfed at the moment but you are one of the healthiest and strongest Care Bears I've ever seen. But I need to talk about what Anger Heart said."

"About my attempted suicide…" Melony averted her gaze.

Take Care nodded, "Melony, look at me please." Melony did and found a face not angry or even prying but one that showed the concern only a mother could. Even though Melony wasn't her daughter Take Care knew she needed a gentler touch for this situation. "Melony, I want to know why you did that. I want to help you and I promise you won't be locked away or punished for what happened, but I need your help to help you."

Melony bit her lip as the painful memories came flooding back and she began to tear up. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment but then being here, with another of her own kind offering to help her while showing real concern rather than the 'medical curiosity' she'd seen in so many doctors over the years made everyone come tumbling out at once.

"I grew up on earth and I was adopted by a human foster home. People wanted me to see doctors for years to study me physically and mentally, the poked and prodded me and treated me as a 'study subject' for years without even asking if I was alright with it. Then all the other children I lived with and I went to school with teased and bullied me because I was different for years but no one ever stopped them because I was a freak and the teachers never stopped the bullying, especially since I was strong enough that I never really got hurt, especially after I started using the weight room at school.

"Then, ten years ago when I was eight, I saw the Care Bears on TV and I thought 'this is what I am, this is what makes me special' until I told those same bullies and they told me 'if you're so special then why did they leave you down on Earth?' I couldn't handle it after that and I just tried to hide away whenever I could, saving money from what few odd jobs I could take while I finished school. Once I graduated I decided I needed to find others like me, Care Bears abandoned on Earth. I spent everything I had to learn about and find some but by the time I got to the city I found out they left years ago." Melony rubbed her eyes that were now full of tears, "I had nothing left and no home to go back to, my foster family said I needed to find my own place but I was broke and alone and I knew anyone who got a hold of me would sell or dissect me if they could so I decided to end it!" Melony finally broke down and sobbed into her hands.

Take Care had stood there, listening to the young woman's story. She did her best to hold in her own tears but stepped forwards and patted her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, things will get better."

Melony looked up and suddenly latched onto Take Care in a tight hug. Take Care was taken aback but didn't try to force her off. She knew Melony needed this and she felt sympathy for her, so she hugged back, patting the indigo bear's back. "Just let it out, Melony."

Melony's crying eventually petered down to sniffling and she let go of the doctor. Take Care was a bit rattled but composed herself and spoke to her patient, "Melony. What you did was very serious, now you're not in trouble but I want you to promise me that if you're every feeling bad then please talk to someone. You'll find almost everyone up here is willing to help and listen to what you have to say. OK?"

Melony sniffed, "OK. What do I do now?"

"For the moment, come sit in the waiting room. I need to call Love Heart and bring him here to talk to you, he has something important to tell you." Take Care headed for the front door, then paused, "After that we'll find you a place to sleep at the Hall of Hearts until you can pick out a place to live. Last a checked there's a few houses that were vacated after the bears or cousins living there got married." Take Care motioned for Melony to follow her into the waiting room, which she did.

Take Care had just picked up her desk phone (she maintained it as a business line while her heartphone was mostly for personal use) when the front door of the waiting room burst open and Love Heart lead Teacher Bear and her seven colorful cubs into the waiting room.

Melony was shocked out of her own head as the cubs scattered around the waiting room, Passive Heart, Pretty Heart, Grateful Heart and Charity Heart taking seats next to Melony while Curious Heart, Thorough Heart and Hungry Heart went to play with the toys that Take Care had put in the waiting room once more cubs had started to be born.

Take Care almost jumped when the group came in and Love Heart walked up with Teacher Bear to talk to her. "Hi, Take Care. Sorry about this but I found a whole family of Care Bear Cousins down on Earth. This is Teacher Bear and her cubs… umm," Love Heart paused for a moment as he turned to look at the children in the waiting room.

Teacher Bear quickly picked up the conversation from Love Heart, "Grateful Heart Hedgehog, Passive Heart Badger, Pretty Heart Skunk, Charity Heart Fox, Hungry Heart Billygoat, Thorough Heart Weasel, and Curious Heart Wolf."

"Yes, I can see that," Take Care shook her head to clear it from the sudden shock of eight new patients all turning up at once.

"Mom, what's going- oh my goodness!" Get Well had heard the commotion and come in from the house to see the new arrivals in the waiting room.

Take Care composed herself and turned to address Teacher Bear, "Teacher Bear, I am Take Care Bear the head doctor at the Kingdom of Caring Hospital," she gestured towards Get Well, "This is my daughter, Get Well Bear, who just returned from medical school earlier this year. We just need to do a check up on you and each of your children so we can start your records here."

"That would be fine," Teacher Bear nodded.

"We can do two of you at a time, I just need to talk to Love Heart for a minute and we can begin." Take Care nodded to Love Heart.

"I can start on the children," Get Well turned to the cubs, "Who would like their check-up first?"

"I'll go." Pretty Heart, the pink skunk, jumped off the chair and followed Get Well into the exam room.

As Teacher Bear sat down to wait her turn, Take Care told Love Heart about Melony's suicide attempt, the green bear's face hardening for a moment before Take Care motioned for Melony to join her and Love Heart. "Melony, I want you to meet Love Heart Bear, leader of the Care Bear Magi."

Love Heart offered a hand to Melony, "It's nice to meet you, Melony. Take Care just told me about what happened. Are you feeling better now?"

"I don't know… I keep thinking this isn't real," Melony shuffled her feet, she was wearing drab grey sneakers, "That I wasn't saved by a magical flying fox and hit the ground and this… this is just the afterlife except I couldn't be up here if I succeeded because… I remember my foster parents once said that people who commit suicide go to hell."

"You tried to kill yourself?" Curious Heart Wolf couldn't help himself and had gotten closer to overhear their conversation. Take Care cursed in her head for not taking the conversation to a private room but her mind was currently still overloading from all the events of the day.

"You should never do that!" Charity Heart nearly shouted from her seat, "If you commit suicide you'd be sent to hell forever no matter what life you live, that was a very stupid thing to do!"

"Charity Heart Fox!" Teacher Bear's suddenly harsh tone caused the young vixen to turn to her adopted mother, wilting slightly under her stare from behind her glasses, "Melony must have gone through a very hard time to bring herself to that brink and to even attempt it. She's probably very confused and scared right now if she's never had others like us to relate to, you shouldn't chastise her when she's so fragile."

"I'm sorry mom…" Charity Heart's ears drooped.

Teacher Bear pointed to Melony, "You should apologize to Melony more than to me." She turned to the three bears standing by Take Care's desk, "I'm very sorry. Charity Heart is a devout Christian and she can't help but share her opinions vocally. And Curious Heart, you know better than to eavesdrop."

Curious Heart Wolf hung his head, "I'm sorry, mom."

Charity Heart got up, still clutching her stuffed cow, and walked over to Melony, "I'm sorry, Melony." She looked up and saw that the indigo bear was crying, wiping tears away from her eyes with both hands.

Love Heart patted the young woman on the back then took hold of her hand when he felt her trying to move away. "Don't worry, Melony we're here for you. Want to meet my family."

Melony sniffed, "Yes, I'd like that," she sniffed again and finished drying her eyes.

"Alright," Love Heart pulled out his heartphone and texted to Confidence to meet him at Take Care's with the kids. "Take Care, is there anything else you needed to tell me?"

Take Care had stayed silent once she saw that Teacher Bear had her children under control but now she continued, "Yes. Love Heart, Melony is a Magi."

"A what?" Melony looked at the doctor, sounding a bit confused.

"A Care Bear Magi," Love Heart took over, "We are essentially genetically altered super soldiers created by the Great Wishing Star to be stronger, more durable and magically gifted compared to the rest of the Care Bear Family, with the trade off that we lack the ability to speak any language that the rest of the family have and we age much more slowly." He smiled, "This means I'm the one who can give you your tummy symbol once you pick a name for yourself."

"Is something wrong with my name?" Melony looked like she was about to cry but Take Care quickly diffused the situation.

"No, most Care Bears pick a name that represents themselves when they join the Care Bear Family."

"My wife used to be called Cassandra Avalon but she changed her name to Confidence Heart Fennec," Love Heart said, "So what do you feel defines you as a person? Or you can keep your name as Melony like Darien did."

"No, I kind of want to change it, my life as Melony has just been one tragedy after another, maybe minor but…" the indigo bear trailed off.

"Just because your tragedies are personal, doesn't make them any less important." Teacher Bear stood up and walked over to join them, "You shouldn't compare your personal issues to larger ones of the world or even to other individuals' problems. I've told many of my students the same thing."

Melony nodded and sniffed again, "I guess I'm always sad, but sadness bear sounds too depressing…"

"Not really, I mean we have a Grumpy Bear up here, and then there's the fox who rescued you, Anger Heart." Love Heart smiled, "These aren't negative emotions, they're emotions that people think are wrong but are needed to make someone a complete and healthy person."

"Maybe if you had a name that sounds less depressing, might I suggest Melancholy Bear?" The other three turned to look at Teacher Bear so she continued, "Melancholy is a form of sadness but one that makes you reflective and thoughtful, which is something being sad is good for."

Melony smiled, the first time she could remember doing in so long, "That does sound nice. I think I'll do that, I'll be Melancholy Bear."

Love Heart clapped his hands together then stepped back, "Alright, hold still. This will just take a moment." His tummy symbol glowed.

"What will?" the indigo bear had no time for further questions as Love Heart's tummy symbol shot off a blast of white light that flew up and around before settling on the indigo bear's stomach, lighting up underneath her shirt and hoodie. A moment later the symbol appeared on the front of her shirt, a crying blue star.

"Welcome to the Care Bear Family, Melancholy Bear," Love Heart smiled as her.

"A crying star?" Melancholy Bear touched the pattern on her shirt.

"I think it looks lovely, Melancholy," Teacher Bear said.

"Can I get a quick check-up while we're waiting, Take Care, I had a run in with Shrieky before I found them," Love Heart said.

"Alright, everyone please wait here," Take Care took Love Heart into an exam room.

Love Heart's check-up didn't take very long after Take Care heard Love Heart's account of what happened. "There's some minor scarring but nothing serious."

"Yeah, but Shrieky still almost killed me," Love Heart shook his head, "Shrieky of all people. I made the right choice to take a temporary retirement until this all ends. Thank you, Take Care." Love Heart headed back to the waiting room.

Melancholy Bear was talking with Teacher Bear when Love Heart re-entered the waiting room, and a moment later Pretty Heart Skunk emerged from the other exam room. "I'm all done," she smiled, "Get Well says I'm perfectly healthy."

"That's very good, so who's next?" Teacher Bear smiled at the skunk.

"I'll go," Charity volunteered as she stood up from her chair.

"Then I'll take you, Teacher Bear," Take Care said.

At that moment, the outside door opened and Confidence Heart stepped. "Love Heart!" She darted to Love Heart, catching him in a hug as the two kissed and Miracle Heart and Shimmering Star entered the waiting room.

When they finished, Love Heart turned to Teacher Bear, "Teacher Bear, Mulcaheys, meet my kids: Miracle Heart Kitsune and Shimmering Star Bear."

"I'm Confidence Heart Fennec," Confidence grinned and pointed to herself with her thumb.

"Daddy," Shimmers tugged on Love Heart's leg fur, "are you really going to stay home all the time?"

Love Heart smiled and scooped the tan bear up in his arms, "That's right," he nuzzled his nose against his son's nose, "I do have to go out sometimes but no more missions while I have to look after you. First things first," he headed towards the door with his son still in his arms, "Time to get you toilet trained."

The door shut behind them and Confidence Heart just rolled her eyes, "At least he's being enthusiastic." She looked at Melancholy, "Love Heart asked me to take you to the Hall of Hearts and show you around the Kingdom of Caring, if you want to come," she offered her hand to the indigo bear.

"Yes I'd like that," Melancholy smiled and accepted her hand.

"So what do you like to do?" Mira looked up at Melancholy as they left.

As they left, Pretty Heart turned to Teacher Bear before she was led into the exam room. "Can I go with them mom? I want to meet Miracle Heart." she asked.

Teacher Bear paused for a moment, giving it some thought, "Alright, just stay with Confidence Heart and Miracle Heart."

"I will, thank you!" Pretty Heart Skunk all but ran out the door in order to catch up to the others. Thankfully they were just a short distance way on the main path between the Forest of Feelings and Care-a-Lot by the time Pretty Heart was out the door. "Wait for me!" She waved and ran after the three.

Confidence Heart stopped to wait for the skunk to catch up. "Hello, what was your name?"

"Pretty Heart Skunk." She smiled up at the older fennec, "So how do I get one of those tummy symbols like you have?"

"I can get Tenderheart or Brave Heart to give you one. Love Heart can only give symbols to magi like us," she pointed to Miracle Heart and Melancholy Bear.

"Hi, I'm Miracle Heart Kitsune," Mira offered a hand to Pretty Heart, who shook it strongly.

"I'm Pretty Heart Skunk, nice to meet you. So where are we going?" She looked around.

Mira point to the giant heart some distance away, "The Hall of Hearts, it's like the city hall."

"Oh," Pretty Heart held back for a moment to observe the building. She hadn't bothered to look back at it after they were lead out of it the first time. As the other three started to walk, Pretty Heart looked at Mira's multiple tails before she caught up, "Why do you have four tails, Miracle Heart?"

"Call me Mira, and it's cause I'm a kitsune, a magical fox." She swished her four tails, "My tail split in half when I was eight and then again twice this year. I'm not the only one either, Anger Heart Fox has eight tails but he keeps them hidden so they don't knock everything over. So what do you like to do, Pretty Heart?"

"Well I like to try new things but mostly I play dress up, sing in a choir and boxing," Pretty Heart sighed, "Father Mulcahey taught me since I was five."

"Really?" Mira grinned, "Mom's been teaching me karate since I was five too. Want to spar?"

Pretty Heart wasn't sure if Mira was oblivious to her sudden sadness or if she was moving on to keep her from dwelling on it, either way she appreciated it and smiled back, "OK. I just need to dig my boxing gloves out of the stuff we brought up here. The clouds would make a soft mat to fall on right?" She looked at the cloudy ground to either side of the path.

"Of course," Mira jumped sideways and landed on the soft, cotton-like clouds, giggling the whole time. Seeing how fun it looked, Pretty Heart jumped into the clouds alongside her, laughing as well. Both of them picked themselves up and got back on to the path to catch up to Confidence and Melancholy, as the former pointed out the landmarks to the latter and answered various questions about the Kingdom of Caring.

Champ Bear and Lotsa Heart had been joined by Brave Heart in moving the Mulcahey's possessions into the guest rooms in the Hall of Hearts by the time Confidence, Melancholy, Mira and Pretty Heart arrived.

Brave Heart had just returned to pick up one of the Tuppermaid containers full of old papers when Confidence Heart called out to him. "Hey, Brave Heart, happy you're here. Can you help me with something?"

Brave Heart stopped himself from leaning down to pick up the next box, "Sure, Confidence. Does it have something to do with the new family members we found today?" Brave Heart whistled, "Nine in one day, that's a record."

Confidence ushered Pretty Heart forwards who smiled at him. "Hi Brave Heart. My name is Pretty Heart Skunk."

Brave Heart chuckled, "Nice to meet you, Pretty Heart. What can I do for you?"

"You can give her a tummy symbol," Confidence said.

"Yes please," Pretty Heart nodded, "the rest of my family is at Take Care's and she said I'm healthy."

"All right, little lady, just stand still." Brave Heart's tummy symbol lit up and he fired off a white replica from his symbol. Pretty Heart watched it fly around, just like it had with Melancholy Bear until it settled on her tummy, the glow emanating from under her dress then showing up a moment later on the fabric, a heart-shaped compact.

"Will it show up on all my clothes?" Pretty Heart touched the picture on her dress, it felt like it had always been there.

"Yep, but only when you put them on. Excuse me I need to keep moving this stuff into the rooms." Brave Heart went another box since the tuppermaid container had been picked up by Lotsa Heart.

"Wait!" Pretty Heart darted over to the box and tore the top open. She grinned as she pulled out a pair of red boxing gloves, "I knew they were in here. I just need to find some clothes and change." The rest of the box had other non-clothing items in it.

"Or you could just go without," Mira said, "Most of us do."

Pretty Heart turned to look at Mira, then looked at Champ, Lotsa and Brave Heart. Though Champ was wearing a red jacket and headband she only now just realized that most of the Care Bears weren't wearing any clothing. She blushed slightly then shook her head. "This is weird. Is there a bathroom nearby?" She asked.

Champ, who was about to grab another box, pointed to a door nearby, "Right there, sports fan."

"Thank you," Pretty Heart disappeared into the bathroom. Inside she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself in her light green dress, now with the symbol on the front. "I might as well try." She pulled the dress off, then looked at herself just standing there in her underwear, before she pulled that off too. Looking at her reflection, and seeing her new tummy symbol, was an odd experience. She didn't look inappropriate at all, in fact this felt more natural now that she had her tummy symbol. She folded her clothes up and exited the bathroom.

"This feels weird," Pretty Heart set her folded up clothes on a chair that was near the wall.

"I think I'll stay clothed for now," Melancholy said.

"Forget feeling weird," Miracle Heart's tummy symbol glowed as she conjured karate training gloves and shoes onto her hands and feet, "I'm ready to go!" she jabbed the air a few times.

Pretty Heart seemed to forget her oddness and grabbed her boxing gloves to pull on, "Can you help lace me up, please?" she looked to Confidence Heart and held out the gloves.

"Sure," Confidence tied the laces on the gloves until they were tight around the skunk's wrists.

Pretty Heart smiled then took a moment to throw some practice punches, just to make sure the gloves were on tight. "OK, I'm ready."

"Let's take this outside then," Confidence Heart motioned for the two girls to follow her as she headed for the exit.

OoOoO

"Alright, that's everyone." Take Care led Grateful Heart back into the waiting room then turned to Teacher Bear. "Most of your children are perfectly healthy, even Grateful's amputation is in good condition. There's just Hungry Heart to worry about."

"I know, he's diabetic," Teacher Bear sighed, "I should have been watching how much he ate when he was younger, but it's too late to go back now…"

Take Care nodded, "That saves me the worry about this. As long as you know I'll skip the overview of stuff you need to know for him, unless you need my help."

"No, but thank you," Take Care said.

"One last thing." Take Care checked her notes, "What year did you say you were born?"

Teacher Bear had to think for a moment. "I don't know exactly. But Mrs. Mulcahey said she found me in 1935."

Take Care almost dropped her notes, "Are you serious?"

Teacher Bear gave her an odd look as she leaned on her cane, "Yes, why?"

"Just… something I need to talk to Love Heart about," Take Care shook her head to clear it.

As if on cue to diffuse the awkward situation, Guidance Heart Raccoon and her son Flair Heart Raccoon entered the office.

"Sorry to intrude Take Care, oh…" Guidance saw the six cubs and Teacher Bear all gathered, "Is this a bad time?"

"No, we just finished their check-ups," Get Well said, "Did you need something?"

"Anger Heart texted me a while ago and said he left here with Redemptionheart earlier. He hasn't come home yet and I wanted to know if you've seen him since. He isn't answering my texts." Guidance Heart shook her head.

"I'm sure he's fine," Get Well said, "He's probably just driving."

"I hope so…" Guidance Heart took a deep breath.

While they were talking, Flair Heart approached the Mulcahey cubs, and Curious Heart was the first to approach him. "Hi. My name's Curious Heart Wolf, what's your name."

"Don't pounce on her," Grateful Heart said in a chastising voice, "What if she's shy?"

"I'm a boy!" Flair Heart blurted out, which stopped the conversations in the room.

"Then why are you pink?" Hungry Heart asked, "I thought pink was a girl's color."

"Boys can be pink, Lotsa Heart is pink and he's a boy!" Flair Heart shot back.

Thorough Heart interrupted, "Actually, pink being a girl's color is fairly recent development. In older times pink was considered a boy's color because it was a derivation of the very masculine red so young boys were often dressed and painted in pink."

"It is rude to assume he's a girl just because he's pink," Passive Heart added.

"So what's your name?" Charity Heart asked.

"Flair Heart Raccoon." Flair Heart grinned, "I didn't think I'd see so many more kids this soon."

"Guidance, as long as you're here can you take Teacher Bear and her cubs back to the Hall of Hearts. I have to finish their new patient files."

Guidance Heart smiled and nodded, "OK. Everyone follow me."

Take Care sat at her desk as they all left her hospital, a troubled look crossing her face.

"What's wrong mom?" Get Well asked.

"Just a disturbing thought," Take Care said, "If what Teacher Bear told me is true then she's 84 years old."

Get Well balked, "84? But that means she's even older than Soaring Heart and Mounty Heart!"

"And they were already older than Grams Bear," Take Care said. "Then there's this strange reading I got off Teacher Bear when I examined her. I didn't think much of it but now I need to look into it." She pulled out her heartphone, "I need to call Love Heart, and I think we're going to have to talk to the Great Wishing Star in the near future."

As they approached the Hall of Hearts, Teacher Bear saw Pretty Heart and Miracle Heart facing each other standing on the clouds and wearing boxing gloves and karate gloves and boots respectively. She picked up her pace, "What's going on?"

"Just a friendly match," Confidence Heart said then turned to the two combatants and raised a hand, "Alright this is a clean match so no low blows, cheap shots and no hitting your opponent when they're down, martial arts only. First person to be knocked down three times or surrender loses. Ready?"

"Ready!" Mira and Pretty Heart both replied.

"Then fight!" Confidence Heart swung her arm down and stepped back.

The Mulcaheys, Melancholy Bear, Guidance Heart and Flair Heart all stood in a circle with Confidence Heart while Pretty Heart and Miracle Heart circled each other. Mira was the more aggressive one and charged in with a straight punch to Pretty Heart's face but the skunk dodged aside and hit Mira with a right hook to her side. Mira had to step aside to avoid falling and pulled her leg back to kick, which was blocked by Pretty Heart's gloves. Pretty Heart dodged back to avoid two more punches from Miracle Heart then darted forwards and delivered straight jab right to Mira's face. Mira was caught up guard and fell backwards, landing on the clouds.

"One down, Pretty Heart leads 1-0," Confidence Heart said.

"You're good," Mira said as she picked herself up.

"You too," Pretty Heart stretched her arms then resumed her boxing stance as Mira got back to her feet.

Mira threw a couple punches to loosen up then approached Pretty Heart. This time the skunk struck first and threw a strong jab at Mira's chest, only for Mira to sidestep and deflect the blow with her arm then kick Pretty Heart in the chest. Pretty Heart staggered back and just barely dodged a karate chop that Mira aimed at her shoulder. Mira dodged aside with her and kicked her side, but missed and Pretty Heart delivered a serious left hook to Mira's shoulder. Mira lost her balance and fell down again.

"Down again, Pretty Heart leads 2-0." Confidence Heart looked at Mira, who was clearly frustrated as she stood up.

"Are you alright?" Pretty Heart lowered her gloves.

"I'm fine!" Mira's voice betrayed her frustration as she rounded on Pretty Heart. "Get ready!" She dropped into the fighting stance, waiting for Pretty Heart to get ready again. Pretty Heart sighed then drew her gloved hands up again.

Miracle Heart became suddenly aggressive, she charged in and let loose with a flurry of punches. Pretty Heart was pushed back nearly to the ring of observers, taking several punches much weaker than before but still she was losing her balance. Mira pulled back and threw a haymaker punch at Pretty Heart's face, forcing her to dodge aside. Pretty Heart tried to regain her balance but Mira delivered a chop to her side, which made her fall to the clouds below.

"Yes!" Mira jumped in place as Pretty Heart picked herself up. Her side hurt a bit but no worse than what she had taken in previous boxing matches.

"Pretty Heart is down. Pretty Heart leads 2-1." Confidence Heart announced.

"You can do it, Pretty Heart!" Charity Heart shouted. She had been the closest to Father Mulcahey so she wanted her sister and his best student to win.

"Yeah! Get her!" Grateful Heart called. The rest of the Mulcahey's joined in cheering for Pretty Heart as she got back to her feet.

"Don't listen, Mira! You can beat her!" Flair Heart had a very loud tenor voice that rang out loud enough to even be heard over the Mulcaheys.

Mira stretched her arms as Pretty Heart dropped back into another fighting stance but waited for the Kitsune. "Alright, let's finish this," Mira's confidence had returned as she dropped into another fighting stance.

At first, the both circled each other, Pretty Heart's outboxer style made her hold back instead of charging in again, but she edged closer to bait Mira. Feeling too cocky after just one knockdown, Mira took the bait and charged in with a strong karate punch to her face. Pretty Heart dodged back then to the side as Mira followed up with a kick to her stomach. While Mira was off balance, Pretty Heart shot a jab into her chest. Mira just barely regained her balance and dodged two straight punches to her face before retaliating with a hard punch to Pretty Heart's shoulder. Pretty Heart rolled away from the punch, softening the blow then dodging aside as Mira punched at her again. Taking her chance with the miss, Pretty Heart dropped slightly the delivered a powerful uppercut to Mira's jaw. Mira felt the impact which lifted her feet a centimeter off the ground. Pretty Heart didn't waste any time and jabbed her in the chest, just enough to push her over. Mira hit the clouds and lay there as her mother spoke up.

"Mira's down. Pretty Heart wins 3-1." Confidence immediately was at her daughter's side as she just lay there on the clouds, staring up at the sky and not moving.

Pretty Heart heard the cheers from her family but didn't go to join them, instead going over to Mira. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you too badly?"

"Just my ego," Mira put her arm over her eyes to shield them from the sun, "I thought I was better than that, even with the training gloves."

"She's had worse in training. I know, I train her," Confidence helped Mira to stand.

"I barely held on, I guess I'm not training hard enough," Mira sighed.

"It's easy to slack off after 25 years of practise, I haven't had as much practise as I should have," Pretty Heart walked over to her family and Thorough Heart unlaced her gloves.

Mira stared at Pretty Heart, "25 years?!" her shout made all the Mulcahey's turn to look at her, "But-but we're the same age right? You said you've been practising since you were five, me too and I'm only ten? How old are you?!" Her face was a twisted picture of disbelief.

"My children all look like they're ten years old, but last I checked they're actually all 30 years old." Teacher Bear said, "I aged slowly when I grew up with the Mulcaheys so I just assumed that was natural for our kind, even if they haven't seemed to age in two decades." Teacher Bear looked down at her children.

"Oh, well I guess I should explain something about how Care Bears age," Guidance Heart said. "You see, we Magi age differently from normal Care Bears. We age at the same rate as humans until we turn 25 at which point we are frozen at that age perpetually, at least as far as we can tell; we need the time to develop the denser bone and musculature that makes us so strong and then we need to stay at the physical prime of our lives so we can always fight at our strongest.

"As for normal Care Bears, you've heard the saying 'you're only as old as you feel'? For Care Bears it's more literal. Care Bears can subconsciously control their physical age, slowing down, speeding up or even halting the rate at which they age. The first cubs born here, Hugs and Tugs, were stuck at the rough age of three for years because they didn't want to grow up without any friends their own age but once the next birth happened, with Contrary Heart Liger and Hopeful Heart Liger, they started growing up with them. The maximum speed for aging seems to be about six times the speed that humans grow up, at least until the physical age of 24 at which point they start aging or not depending on how they feel. A lot of them stay at that age but some end up growing older because they feel older, and sometimes they even de-age if circumstances start making them feel younger. Noble Heart and True Heart were physically middle aged until True Heart got pregnant, at which point their started getting younger and now they're in their prime of their lives again and even Grams Bear was elderly but is now 'only' middle aged." Guidance Heart giggled at the odd saying then composed herself. "My guess is that your children decided, subconsciously, that they didn't want to grow up for some reason so they've stayed ten years old for the last twenty years."

Teacher Bear looked down at her children as they all processed the information that Guidance had dropped on them. Teacher Bear thought back to a decision she had made when she was 18 years old, "Did you all stay home to look after me?"

Of the seven it was Grateful Heart Hedgehog who spoke first. "We didn't want to leave you alone. We saw you were getting older and we knew you'd need help around the house, and we didn't want to put you in an old folk's home. It's like when you decided to look after Mrs. Mulcahey after her heart surgery."

Teacher Bear stared open mouthed at the hedgehog, "I wanted you to pursue your own dreams, to find things in the world you wanted to do, not just sit at home and look after an old woman all your lives."

Grateful Heart suddenly became very impassioned in his speech, "But if you hadn't stayed home to look after her, you never would have found us! And I would have died!" he was on the verge of tears.

Charity put a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, letting him know it was alright to cry. "Mom, we know you wanted us to grow up, but after everything you did for us we couldn't just abandon you. We all talked about it years ago and we decided we wanted to look after you like you looked after us."

Teacher Bear wanted to be mad, to chastise them for putting their lives on hold for her sake, but looking at them and after hearing what they had said, she couldn't bring herself to shout. She dropped to one knee and spread her arms, "Oh my, thank you, all of you!"

Charity Heart Fox, Grateful Heart Hedgehog, Thorough Heart Weasel, Curious Heart Wolf, Passive Heart Badger, Pretty Heart Skunk and Hungry Heart Billygoat all ran forwards to join in a group hug, not even minding Grateful Heart's quills.

"You don't have to worry about her up here," Brave Heart assured them, "If Teacher Bear needs help then any of us will be ready and willing."

The group hug didn't last too long and as soon as they separated, Curious Heart turned to Pretty Heart and asked, "How do we get a symbol like that? And why are you naked?"

"Well, Care Bears don't need clothes, it doesn't feel all that awkward, I mean most of them don't wear anything up here." Pretty Heart looked down at herself. "As for the symbol, a lion called Brave Heart gave it to me."

"As long as you're here, might as well go see him then," Guidance Heart motioned for them to follow her into the Hall of Hearts.

"Pretty Heart, want to spar with me later?" Mira asked.

"OK, but I should stay with my family now." Pretty Heart moved to follow her family.

"Let's get home then, and see how Shimmers is doing," Confidence Heart motioned for Mira to follow her home. Melancholy Bear followed after the Mulcaheys into the Hall of Hearts. She had stood silently watching the fight, unsure what to say during or after the fight.

Inside, Pretty Heart Skunk retrieved her dress and undergarments, quickly dressing as her family stood in front of Brave Heart, now that all their possessions had been taken to the guest rooms.

"Alright then, nice to meet you, Teacher Bear. Everyone ready?" Brave Heart's tummy symbol started to glow.

"Yes!" Grateful Heart Hedgehog said.

"I'm ready," Passive Heart Badger said.

"Let's do this!" Thorough Heart Weasel said.

"OK," Charity Heart Fox held her stuffed cow close.

"I'm ready," Hungry Heart Billygoat said

"Yep, I'm ready!" Curious Heart was fidgeting in place.

Teacher Bear put a hand on Curious Heart's shoulder to keep him still, "Were all ready, Brave Heart."

"Alright, seven new tummy symbols comin' right up!" Brave Heart fired off his tummy symbol which flew around the Mulcaheys, spiraling around their heads one by one before briefly touching their tummies and flying to the next one leaving a glow that formed their new tummy symbols: a treasure chest with a heart shaped lock for Grateful Heart, a yin-yang symbol with hearts for 'eyes' for Passive Heart, a file folder with a heart on it for Thorough Heart, an open book with a heart in the center for Charity Heart, a heart shaped sandwich with a bite taken out of it for Hungry Heart, and a star shaped magnifying glass for Curious Heart.

As for Teacher Bear, she felt the glow touch her and the same warmth spread through her, but the symbol didn't show up on her dress.

"That's odd, it didn't fizzle out so where's the symbol?" Brave Heart scratched his head.

"I feel it. I mean I feel a strange warmth that spread through me after that touched me." She looked at her children who were all touching their new symbols, just to check and see if they were there. "Is that how it felt to you?"

"Yep!" Curious Heat nodded as he looked under his collar to see the new tummy symbol on his stomach.

"Well if you're uncomfortable undressing go take a look in the bathroom," Brave Heart pointed to the bathroom doors nearby.

"Yes, just a moment," Teacher Bear walked off at a hurry, forgetting her cane where she had been standing. Guidance Heart retrieved the cane as she watched Teacher Bear go, the elderly bear not even limping as she walked.

"So Flair, what do you like to do?" Curious Heart was in front of the Pink Racoon once he was certain he had the symbol on his fur.

"Oh well I train to be a Magi, but… I like to play music," he gave a somewhat embarrassed smiled.

"Can you sing for us?" Pretty Heart asked as the rest of the Mulcahey's turned to face him.

Flair Heart's blush intensified enough to be seen luminescent through his fur. Guidance quickly came to her son's defence, "Flair, you don't have to sing if you don't want to."

"I'm not ready to sing for an audience, but I could play something for you with this," Flair reached into his tummy symbol, which made the Mulcahey's and Melancholy flinch.

"Will you reach us how to do that?" Melancholy asked.

"Of course," Guidance said as Flair pulled out a harmonica.

"Harmony got this for me for my birthday last year." Flair smiled and put the harmonica to his lips then began to play.

(Ohayou Harmonica Version)

watch?v=anR8_vhyMTk

Teacher Bear would never get used to going without clothing, 80 years of dressing like a human would never wear off for her. Nevertheless, once she was in the privacy of the bathroom she undressed to get a look at her new tummy symbol: A chalkboard with a white heart drawn on it and an apple next to it, it seemed very appropriate for someone with her name. But why didn't it show up on her clothing like it did with her children? Was it because she was old? Once she had a good enough look she redressed and exited the bathroom.

Teacher Bear emerged in time to hear Flair Heart start his song. It only lasted a minute and a half but by the end the pink raccoon was out of breath and still embarrassed.

"That was beautiful, Flair," Teacher Bear walked over to the raccoon.

Flair smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Teacher Bear."

"So now what should we do," Melancholy Bear asked.

"I think you should get settled in in the guest rooms for now, it's going to take some time for us to build all eight of you a house, and that's the truth," Lotsa Heart said, having just returned from delivering the last of their possession's to the guest rooms.

"What about me?" Melancholy Bear said

Everyone finally turned to face Melancholy, finally noticing that she quiet bear was there. "Sorry, I didn't get your name, miss…?" Brave Heart tilted his head.

"Melon- Melancholy Bear," she quickly corrected herself, "Anger Heart brought me up here and apparently I'm a Magi." She took a breath as she saw the rest of them staring at her then continued, "I don't have anything with me, except what I'm wearing."

"We do have some spare houses after a bunch of us got married," Champ snapped his fingers, "You can have Cheer's old house, once we get it cleaned up."

"Is there anything you like to do, Melacholy?" Teacher Bear asked.

"Well…" Melancholy paused, "I like to work out. Do you have a gym up here?"

"Of course we do, sports fan," Champ stepped forwards, "Want me to show you?"

"Yes, please," Melancholy offered a hand to Champ Bear, which he grabbed and pulled along.

"I'll show you but then I have to head home. Don't want to leave Cheer alone too long." Champ said as he almost pulled Melancholy out the door.

"Why not?" Melancholy asked.

"We're having twins, she gets cranky a lot so she's probably going to call me soon," Champ said as they disappeared out the door.

"At least she's going to find a place to fit in," Brave Heart chuckled.

"Here, you dropped this, Teacher Bear," Guidance handed the cane back to the elderly bear.

"Oh, thank you. I didn't notice." Teacher accepted the cane back but didn't go back to leaning on it.

"Do you really need it?" Guidance Heart asked.

"Well…" Teacher Bear tested the cane on the ground, "I do have aches in my body these days, it can get hard to walk."

"But you just ran to the bathroom, and you ran over to Love Heart back on earth," Thorough Heart pointed out.

"Your need for a cane might be psychological," Guidance Heart said, she touched the cane's handle and looked at Teacher Bear, "Did you ever hurt your legs, or get a hip replaced or suffer any permanent injuries?"

"Well… no…" Teacher Bear looked up at the raccoon, "I would like to keep it though."

"You can, but if you don't need it maybe try walking without it unless you need it." Guidance suggested and let go of the cane. Teacher Bear picked up the cane. Truthfully she didn't feel shaky on her legs but she just felt she needed one at her age. Maybe Care Bears were naturally sturdier? Suddenly, Teacher Bear felt a bit weak in the knees and she stumbled over to a nearby chair (the same one Pretty Heart had left her clothes on earlier) and dropped down.

"Mom! What's wrong?" Pretty Heart darted over with the rest of her siblings.

"I'm fine, it's just so overwhelming. So much has happened today and I need time to absorb it all." Teacher Bear held a hand to her head and leaned back.

"Well then, let's head up to your rooms so you can lie down if you need it," Brave Heart suggested. Teacher Bear found her children eager to help her to stand as they were led up to the guest rooms. There was one for each of them to sleep in but all their belongings were placed in the hallway, still in boxes. It was an odd sensation for each of them to have a private room, something none of the children had had back when they lived on earth, and the mostly agreed to leave their stuff packed up just in case they had to move out soon, in fact most of the children didn't mind shedding their clothes to join in the Kingdom of Caring.

For her part, Teacher Bear decided to lie down for a nap after getting Brave Heart's assurance that her children would be looked after and fishing her nightgown out of a moving box. It was only late afternoon but she needed to rest. So much had changed in such a short time and now things were looking to change even more.

OoOoO

By the next day, Guidance Heart was worried. Not only had Anger Heart not returned but he wasn't answering his phone or any of his texts. An emergency Magi Meeting was called, even bringing in the children and the new arrivals, Melancholy Bear, Aqua Bear and Lonesome Heart Bear.

Love Heart Bear, Confidence Heart Fennec, Miracle Heart Kitsune, Shimmering Star Bear, Defender Bear, Truth Bear, Independent Bear, Sage Heart Bear, Life Heart Unicorn, Meek Heart Unicorn, Wild Heart Unicorn, Sweet Heart Pegasus, Guidance Heart Raccoon, Flair Heart Raccoon, Melancholy Bear, Tenderheart and Brave Heart, sat in the Hall of Hearts, which had been vacated to give them the privacy they needed for their meeting. Lonesome sat with her hands resting on her pregnant belly; she and Aqua were worried to but for Redemptionheart's disappearance as well. Though they weren't Magi, Tenderheart and Brave Heart were always included in these meetings and often participated on the home front for any operations they had to undertake.

Love Heart sat at the head of the table with Confidence, Mira and Shimmers next to him, Brave Heart and Tenderheart sitting next to them and Defender opposite them.

Love Heart turned to Guidance Heart, "So he hasn't replied at all?"

Guidance Heart nodded and held up her heartphone, "I've called him a dozen times and sent at least 30 texts, but he's still in service and hasn't replied."

"What are we going to do to find dad?" Flair Heart asked.

Love Heart assumed a more serious posture but still did his best to give a reassuring smile to Flair, "Don't worry, we'll find your dad, and Redemptionheart too," Love Heart turned to Aqua and Lonesome. First off we should search where they disappeared. Guidance you said he went to Redemption's old home to help her retrieve something she left behind."

Guidance nodded, "Yes."

"OK. Defender, Independent and Sage Heart, go down to check the island we found them on and see if you can find any information about what happened. Everyone else stay on high alert until we've concluded this but don't start a panic. If anyone asks where Anger Heart and Redemption are, reassure them that we're doing everything we can to find them." Love Heart stood up, "Tenderheart and Confidence stay in the monitor room in case anything happens and report it immediately."

"Yes sir," the voices replied from everyone. Love Heart didn't like how formal they were being but he had taken on an air of command since he assumed this role as leader more officially a decade ago.

As everyone started to disperse, Melancholy Bear approached Love Heart. "Excuse me, General Love Heart?"

Love Heart heard the nerves in her voice and did his best to smile at her, "Please, just Love Heart right now. What's wrong?"

"Well…" Melancholy shuffled a bit, "Should I really be here? I just moved up here yesterday and I don't even know how to fight yet. Should I really be sitting in on this private meeting?"

"You came when we asked, if you don't want to be here or even be a Magi you don't have to. I wasn't expecting something this serious to happen right after you all joined." He put a hand on her shoulder, "Champ called me yesterday, says you can out-bench him no sweat. You're strong enough to get into training as soon as I have time but it's up to you. Do you want to be Magi? It's not easy and it does involve putting your life on the line."

"Yes!" Melancholy suddenly clenched her fists and pumped them in front of her, "I owe Anger Heart my life! Not just him but all of you and I want to do what I can to help!"

"Slow down, you still need to finish training first," Love Heart chuckled. "For now, let us handle it."

Melancholy wilted, "You mean… I can't help out…" the indigo bear started to tear up.

"Well, no nothing dangerous. You're new to this," he gave an anxious look as she saw that Melancholy was about to cry, "You can help by making sure you're ready to stand with us if something serious happens. On that note here," Love Heart reached into his tummy symbol and pulled out a small card, about the size of a credit card, and handed it to Melancholy.

"Private Melancholy Bear?" Melancholy read the card, it didn't have a picture on it just her name and a single chevron insignia.

"Yes, that's your current rank in the Care Bear Magi," Love Heart folded his arms, "Everyone starts at that rank when they join now and moves up as they go through training. Once you graduate to Lieutenant you can go on missions solo or in teams, but until then you need to be trained." Love Heart watched as Melancholy stuffed the card in her pants pocket, she was wearing the same clothes she'd been found in on Earth, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get trained up in time." He looked down at Shimmering Star, still in diapers and watching the exchange, "Don't worry, Shimmers, I'll get you started soon too, but let's get your sister and go home now, ok?"

"OK, daddy," Shimmers reached up to take his dad's hand as they went to find Mira.

Outside the door to the meeting Room, Curious Heart Wolf and Charity Heart Fox had their ears up to the door. "Sounds like a secret meeting, what's it about?"

"I don't know, some sort of Magi thing?" Charity sounded frustrated, "What kind of secret magic stuff are they doing?"

"Probably stuff that's supposed to be a secret." Thorough Heart stood some distance away, arms folded and glaring at his siblings, "Brave Heart said they're basically the Kingdom of Caring's military so we shouldn't be listening it. Besides mom's told us not to eavesdrop."

The door suddenly opened and the purple wolf and red fox were forced to jump back so they wouldn't topple over as Confidence Heart stood in the doorway. "He's right, it is military business which means it's none of yours."

Charity and Curious both gulped and looked up at Confidence's much more serious expression, showing off a presence they didn't expect from the fennec. "Sorry, we just wanted to hear…" Charity apologized.

"How did you hear all that?" Curious asked.

Confidence wiggled her ears, "These aren't just for show, kids."

"She's right, fennec foxes can hear prey moving underground so upscaled to more human size I'm not surprised if she can hear everything in every adjacent room," Thorough Heart said matter-of-factly.

"Exactly, now go play or study or do something to amuse yourselves but stay out of this, that goes for the rest of your family. Things could get dangerous." Confidence's harsh tone and stare sent the three hurrying off. "That goes for you too Marina."

"Aww!" the blue striped bear emerged from behind a potted plant she'd been hiding behind, "I thought I picked a good hiding place."

"They didn't see you, but I heard you. Sorry I know Flair and Mira are part of this but unless your parents say you can join and you are willing to train with us, you can't participate in Magi business." Confidence Heart sighed. This wasn't the first time Tugs and Connie's daughter had tried to listen in on these meetings. Marina sighed and trudged off before Confidence shut the door and went to the monitor station.

Defender, Indy and Sage Heart landed in a cloud car on the island not too much later.

"Doesn't seem to be much here, no real evidence of a struggle," Sage Heart turned to Indy, "Can you sense anything?"

"Yes… there were at least four people here, including Anger Heart and Redemption." Indy looked around, "We're not alone."

Defender was the first to see the slight glint from the weapon barrel. "Look out!" Defender charged, a magical shield forming around his body as a shot rang out. The dart crumpled against Defender's shield as he pulled out his sword and sliced the mercenary's gun in half with a single swipe. The merc pulled a knife and tried to stab the white bear but the blade broke off on his shield as Defender grabbed his head.

"Sleep," Defender cast the spell that coursed into the mercenary's mind. As he felt his consciousness leaving him the mercenary dislodged something in his mouth and bit down.

"Stop him!" Indy charged in but before they could do anything the mercenary's body went rigid and he spasmed violently until he lay still.

Defender and Indy were stunned as Sage Heart finally made it over and reached down to check the mercenary's vitals. "He's dead." He looked up at Defender.

"I didn't kill him, I just tried to make him sleep," Defender took a deep breath. "We should get him back to the Kingdom of Caring, have Take Care look over him at least."

"Just a moment," Indy moved past where the mercenary had been hiding and spotted a single engine boat on the shore. He headed down the slope to examine it, "Just a normal motorboat, no markings, nothing unusual. Damnit, no trail," he struck the side of the boat with his fist, breaking through the wood and splintering a good chunk of the boat.

"We'll find them, don't worry," Defender said as he created a cloud car from his tummy symbol, "This man might be out only lead so let's go." They strapped the dead mercenary into the back seat and took off.

Take Care was shocked when Indy, Sage Heart and Defender hauled the dead human into her office, but after Defender explained the situation to her she hunkered down and started her report. It didn't take her long to figure out what happened.

"Cyanide, he killed himself." She spoke to Defender, who had come in to check on the progress.

"I've heard some soldiers do that to keep from being interrogated," Defender sighed, "he could have been our only lead. Nothing on his outfit tells us where he might have come from."

"I can't tell you much else, maybe Aqua and Lonesome know something about him if he was waiting for you," Take Care said.

"I was thinking the same thing. What are you going to do with the body, doc?" Indy turned to face her.

Take Care sighed, "Once you get anything you can out of it, I'd like you to cremate it. I can't get anything else out of this body and I don't think we should bury him up here."

Defender nodded, "OK. I'll go get them."

Take Care turned away from the dead body as Indy left. This wasn't something she dealt with enough to get used to and she fervently hoped she never would. Part of her wanted to go talk to Indy while he was in the waiting room he'd been avoiding her since his blurted out love confession, but she didn't want to deal with anything this complicated right now. Things were crazy enough, her potential love life would have to wait until it calmed down, if that ever happened, or until Indy chose to talk to her on his own.

It wasn't long before Defender returned with Aqua and Lonesome. "Have you seen anyone like this before?" he asked.

Aqua and Lonesome recoiled slightly, Lonesome hugging her belly protectively, "Yes! That's one of Illyana's mercenaries!"

"The woman that held you captive?" Defender asked.

Aqua nodded, "They took Redemption didn't they?"

"That seems to be the case, thank you." Defender motioned for them to leave. While he managed to stay calm on the outside he was seething internally. "Are we going to remove any of his equipment, Doc?"

"No, I just need to take it somewhere you can burn it safely." Take Care said.

"Alright, but I'll take this," Defender took the mercenary's helmet, "Indy said we might need it for something. Let's get this over with." He glared hatred at the body that lay on the table.

An hour later, Indy had the helmet on the table back in a Magi meeting. "I took it to Futureheart, Peppy and Fara, they said that there's a technique called 'object reading' we might be able to use to track down where this came from, but none of them know how to do it."

"That's not good," Love Heart stared at the object in front of him, "Guidance, any luck looking up Illyana?"

Guidance took a deep shuddering breath before she continued, "Not much. I just know that she's the head of 'Purity Corp' but I can't find out where she would be holding Anger Heart and Redemption. The corporation has numerous offices in Australia and any place that might hold them is covered up."

"It's a big building! A skyscraper!" Lonesomeheart shouted.

"I know, but she has at least three listed in the country and I can't be sure which one it is," Guidance struggled to hold back her tears.

"A bigger problem is carrying out a rescue operation." Tenderheart spoke up, "Even if we find out where they're being held we can't just charge in and start searching without permission. We'd cause an international incident."

"Which is why we're going to go to the Australian government in order to get permission to raid them, if we can," Brave Heart said. "We're not gonna let them just be stuck in that sick woman's prison forever!"

Outside the meeting doors, Marina Bear was listening in again. The Mulcaheys had been warned by Teacher Bear not to interfere but Marina just couldn't help listening in on what her friends were up to.

"There you are." Marina jumped when she heard her father's voice approaching and she spun around to see Tugs approaching. "How many times do we have to tell you not to sneak off and listen in on the Magi's meetings?"

"I get it from you and mom," Marina said, standing her ground.

Tugs sighed, "Doesn't mean you should keep doing it, now let's leave them be."

"But what if we can help, they said something about 'object reading' a helmet to find Anger and Redemption." As Marina spoke, the door opened to reveal Miracle Heart.

"Hey Marina. Sorry but mom said I had to tell you to stop listening in on us while we're talking," Mira sounded apologetic.

"I just want to help you. Mom and dad won't let me be a Magi. They said it's too dangerous and I'm not built for it." Marina folded her arms, scowling much like her mother would when she was younger.

"Actually, I think I might be able to help, Mira." Tugs said. Both girls looked up at him as he continued, "Can you ask your parents if we can come in for a minute."

Mira looked confused, "OK, I'll ask, just a sec." She shut the door as she retreated back into the meeting room.

A moment later, Love Heart appeared at the door, "Mira says you think you can help us Tugs."

"I can, may we come in?" he asked. Love Heart nodded.

A moment later, Tugs stood in the meeting room he'd always been in, though he felt the pressure of everyone's eyes on him so much he felt like a cub again. He approached the helmet on the table. "I don't know how, but I learned I could look into an object's past when I was younger." He took a deep breath and touched the helmet. Everyone watched at Tugs' tummy symbol glowed and he scrunched up his face.

Images flashed in Tugs' mind the helmet sat in darkness then a moment later light poured in as the mercenary retrieved his headgear and put it on. A few blurry moments later Tugs saw daylight as the wearer exited whatever building he was in. Everyone watched Tugs fidget around then reach into his tummy symbol and pull out his heartphone. Tugs opened his eyes and turned on the maps, zooming in on Australia until he found a spot. "There, that's where it came out of a building." He took a screenshot so he wouldn't lose the spot then passed it to Guidance Heart.

"This is one the buildings listed under Purity Corp's ownership," she smiled and looked up at Tugs, "Thank you, I just hope this is right."

"There's still the problem of being able to go in there and get him out, if he's there." Love Heart said.

"Leave that to us," Brave Heart shot up out of his seat, "Me and Tenderheart will go see their government as soon as possible."

"If we can get an appointment set up." Tenderheart pulled Brave Heart back down, "I'll get in contact with them as soon as we're done here."

"In the meantime, we'll organize our attack," Defender Bear said. "Thank you, Tugs."

"No problem." Tugs took his phone back from Guidance and sent the screenshot of the address to everyone in the room. "We'd better go."

"Can I stay dad?" Marina asked.

Tugs looked up at the three leaders who gave reluctant nods, "OK, but just for today. I'll be waiting outside."

"Thanks dad!" Marina gave him a hug and ran over to sit by Flair, Mira relocated so the three of them could sit together as the meeting continued.

Tugs sat down in the hall outside the meeting room, sending Connie a message about this. Hopefully she would understand.

OoOoO

It had been almost a week since Anger Heart and Redemption's disappearance when Tenderheart and Brave Heart returned from their meeting with the Australian government and the Magi gathered in the meeting room to hear what they had to say.

Tenderheart was the one who spoke, "OK, everyone. We have good news and bad news. First the bad news: The Australian Government says that as far as they are concerned, Purity Corp is a legitimate business so they can't stage any sort of raid or investigation to see if they have anyone held captive there or endorse any sort of raid on them."

"And the good news?" Love Heart asked.

"The good news is that they don't endorse any supposed illegal activities that Purity Corp participates in, so if our actions expose them they wouldn't be able to come to their aid either. If we can execute a rescue without being seen outside the building then we can get in, rescue Anger Heart and Redemption and get out before anyone sees us." Tenderheart took a deep breath, "One of them pulled me aside and said that as long as we are able to get our friends out of there he'll keep us from causing an incident."

"Good, then everyone will set out tonight." Love Heart voice became steely, "Everyone get into teams and be ready to move out at dusk in Australia. Everyone is going except for me, Guidance Heart and everyone enlisted Magi." This last line prompted groans from all the younger members of the Magi.

"But I want to go rescue Redemption!" Aqua protested. "You know I can use magic and fight."

Love Heart folded his arms and shook his head, "No, only fully trained Magi are going. Pick your partners and prepare for the rescue mission everyone."

"Why are you making Guidance Heart stay behind? It's her husband that's in danger!" Lonesomeheart said.

"Because she's too emotionally close to this," Love Heart looked to Guidance Heart, who was holding Flair Heart on her lap, "Sorry, Guidance, but I need clear heads on this mission."

"I know." Guidance held her son closer.

"Ack! Mom!" Flair struggled until Guidance let him go.

"I'm sorry, but I will need your help in the control room," Love Heart said. "Alright, everyone, get ready."

OoOoO

As the sun set over Australia, the teams had been formed: Defender Bear, Sweet Heart and Guidance Heart in one team, Independent Bear and Confidence Heart in a second team, and the last team was Sage Heart and Truth Bear. Each of them was dressed in what could be considered their 'battle outfits' and had their weapons conjured and either in hand, sheathed somewhere for easy access, or in Confidence's case strapped to her arms and legs. They descended from the sky in front of the building that Tugs had pointed them too once the streets were deserted. All of them felt shivers run up their spines as they approached the Purity Corp building, it exuded an aura of menace eerily similar to No-Heart's castle.

Defender Bear spoke in a quiet voice, "Alright, once we're inside we search for every possible location Anger Heart and Redemption might be. Keep your defenses up and as soon as we find them we call for a Rainbow Rescue Beam out, understood?" Everyone nodded their agreement, even Sweet Heart kept her mouth shut as they approached the building.

Defender Bear grabbed the door handle and pulled, "Locked."

"Here, let me," Life Heart stepped forwards and pointed her horn at the door. A flash of light later and the door opened. "There we go."

Defender smiled, "Thanks, Life Heart. Alright, everyone let's move in." He motioned for everyone to follow him in to the empty lobby.

Shortly after they were all inside, an alarm went off and they heard the shutters closing behind them. "Crap!" Confidence Heart spun around and was about to run when Indy grabbed her shoulder.

"Relax and focus on the mission," Indy turned to Defender, "Colonel, your orders?"

Defender Bear nodded, still feeling odd being addressed by his official rank, "Right. Everyone in your teams, split up and search this floor then we go up and down if we can until we find Anger Heart and Redemption. Put your heartphones on two-way radio mode," he pulled out his own heartphone to do just that as did the others, "And call as soon as you find them call us and we'll try to regroup before we beam out but don't hesitate to recuse them if you have a chance and there isn't a major risk."

At that moment two of the inside doors burst opened and armed and armored mercenaries burst into the lobby. Defender Bear immediately created a shield around them as their weapons sang out, darts and bullets crumpling as the hit the shield. Confidence Heart and Indy jumped into action and charged through the shield, punching and slicing through one group and leaving them unconscious as lightning and earth bombarded the second group until they were all down.

Confidence gave a thumb's up as Indy checked the unconscious mercs, "Alright, let's go!" She and Indy turned and ran through the door as Sage Heart and Truth Bear ran through the other door.

"Alright, let's get going!" Sweet Heart flapped her wings as Defender led them towards and through a third door.

OoOoO

Illyana had decided to stay late, extending her captives' latest torture session into the night in the hopes that they would finally break, or die. She was sitting in her office when she heard the alarm go off. Annoyed, she pushed the intercom to the security office. "What's going on?!" she demanded.

"Seven intruders, they look like the same species as the other creatures locked in the torture room."

Illyana gave a sly smile, "Good, capture them, knock them out and bring them to me."

"I think you're a bit too late for that."

Illyana whipped her head up to see the man in black with purple hair standing in her office. "Who are you!? How did you get in here?! Are you with the intruders!?"

"My name is Mental Heart and you wouldn't understand how I got in here. As for the intruders, much as I'd enjoy tearing into them I don't have the energy. Right now I think you need to consider a tactical withdrawal and join our group, I don't think you'll be able to cover up what happens here. Oh and don't bother calling for security in here," Mental Heart saw her hand moving to call the office again, "I'll be gone before they get here and you'll lose your safety net. Let's listen to what's going on, shall we?"

Illyana glared at Mental Heart but sat back in her chair to see and hear about what would happen.

OoOoO

Up in the control room, Love Heart and Guidance Heart sat in the chairs listening to the voices of the Magi on the rescue mission. Guidance Heart had her hands in her lap, staring at them and shaking as she listened as more fights broke out.

Guidance jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Melancholy Bear standing next to her, with tears in her eyes. "Want to talk?" she offered.

Guidance shook her head, "No… I just… I want this to be over, to see Anger Heart again," she started to cry, "I just want him back safely."

"Don't worry, they'll do it," Love Heart looked over at her then back to Brave Heart.

"You bet!" Brave Heart grinned, "They're the best at this, they'll get him out no problem!"

Tenderheart was more cynical about this but kept his mouth shut, despair would be unwelcome here so he turned instead to the others: Aqua, Lonesome, Mira, Shimmers, Flair, Meek Heart and Wild Heart as they tried to amuse themselves without success. Lonesome still fuming about being kept behind but saying nothing after she'd been asked, calmly but firmly, to stop complaining three times already.

OoOoO

After fighting through another group of mercenaries and leaving them unconscious on the ground, Defender Bear sheathed his sword. "We should be close enough now." He concentrated.

"Close enough for what?" Sweet Heart had her metal hoof shoes conjured as she landed next to him and her mother.

"A locator spell. I used it to find the Kingdom of Caring years ago." Defender took a deep breath before he chanted, "Help me to find my lost family member." A sensation pulled at him, "This way, he's below us!" he pointed down a hallway to the right.

"Can't you be a little more specific?" Sweet Heart paused as she heard a click behind them and threw up an earth wall to block the barrage of bullets before she fired off a chunk of ice that took out the mercenary trying to sneak up on them.

"I am, but this place is a series of narrow passages and I don't want to just start knocking down walls or we might bring the whole building down on our heads." Defender was about to continue when Indy's voice came through his heartphone.

"Defender. I've picked up a psionic echo from Anger Heart. It's faint but it's here. Confidence and I are closing in on it now."

"Good, we should meet you when we close in. Sage Heart, Truth Bear try to follow us to the same location." Defender said.

"Got it, we're on our way," Truth said.

Indy and Confidence Heart were the first to arrive at the place Indy sensed Anger Heart behind. He crouched down and felt the floor, "He's right below here. We'll probably have to take an elevator to get down there."

"Or make our own door," Confidence lay down, her ear to the floor, "I hear something faint… laughing?" She stood up right as Defender, Sweet Heart and Life Heart arrived. Confidence cracked her knuckles, "Guess we're making out own entrance." She stepped back and raised a hand, looking to Defender Bear for approval.

"Here, let me," Truth Bear had just arrived and he pulled out his guan dao. Defender nodded and Truth stabbed the polearm through the floor

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Despite the exhaustion and soreness in their bodies, Anger Heart and Redemption continued laughing as Claws continued his torture upon then, oblivious to the blade slicing through the ceiling. Until it fell.

A loud crash sounded as the chunk of ceiling fell to the ground. The Magi jumped or flew down, landing hard on the ground and startling the one guard watching the torture. Without a weapon he tried to call for help only for Life Heart to cast a spell on him that put him to sleep.

"Ohoho! What's this? More victims and playthings? Come here, I know you'll join these two with all the fun they're having." Claws extended several of his tendrils towards the newly arrived Magi, only to have them sliced off by Sage Heart, Defender and Indy's swords. Sweet Heart let out a shout and fired off a blast of lightning right at Claws' main body, the electricity made him short circuit and suddenly his torture stopped, as did the laughter from Anger Heart and Redemption.

Confidence Heart ran forwards and physically tore Anger Heart's restraints off him before lifting him off his torture rack. "Anger Heart! Can you hear me?"

Anger Heart just nodded and looked up to see Truth using his magic to release Redemption from her own rack.

"Lily…" Redemption croaked and pointed to where the red bear's body still lay.

"Oh my!" Life Heart trotted over to the emaciated body and lifted it up, "such a poor creature."

"And you'll join them all soon, heeheehee!" Claws had suddenly come back to life, "That was a tasty lightning snack now all of you will stay here forever!"

Something in Anger Heart snapped. His eyes blazed and despite his exhaustion and painfully sore throat he shot out his hand at Claws' body and shouted one word "DIE!" the fox's tail suddenly split into eight as he fired off a massive blast of blue fire at the torture machine's body. Claws either couldn't cry out for help or did not have enough time as Anger Heart's blue flames melted his body into a pile of molten metal and ash, silencing the torture machine forever.

Everyone watched as what was left of Claws went limp with its brain and main body destroyed. Defender pulled out his heartphone and called up to Care-a-Lot, "We found them teleport us all back." It was a moment before the rainbow rescue beam came down and they were pulled to the safety of their home.

OoOoO

Illyana was fuming as the reports came in and Mental Heart stood by, his face impassive.

"Well, will you accept my offer to join us now?" he asked.

Illyana growled, "Very well, if it will help me recover from this… disaster."

"Good. Now hold still." Mental Heart picked her up with telekinesis and pulled her over to him. A moment later they had vanished.

OoOoO

As soon as the fighting had broken out, Guidance Heart was at the controls of the Rainbow Rescue Beam, waiting nervously for the call. As soon as Defender called for the teleport she worked the controls just how Bright Heart had told her to and the beam activated, bringing all of the Magi safely home.

Upon seeing Anger Heart nearly limp in Confidence's arms she ran over to him, "Anger Heart! Anger Heart speak to me!" she touched him. Anger Heart didn't try and speak, merely looked up at her.

"Redemption!" Aqua and Lonesome ran over to where Truth Bear was still carrying their friend, then gasped when they saw Life Heart carrying Lily's body.

"Lily…" Aqua stared at the small, emaciated form of their old friend.

Love Heart took command as he pulled out his heartphone to dial Take Care's hospital, "Reintroductions later, get them to the hospital!"


	15. Welcome Home New Family

Chapter 15: Welcome Home New Family

Take Care was shocked when the Magi brought their patients to her, especially when she saw the emaciated body of the young red bear. She just asked them to put Lily in the storage freezer until she and Get Well had finished with Anger Heart and Redemption.

"Two cracked ribs, severe throat damage from dryness and malnourishment," Take Care looked down at the fox's feet. "And your paw pads have had the calluses removed. Walking and talking are going to be painful for a few days, so take it easy. Honestly, I'm surprised you're holding up so well, at least mentally."

Anger Heart glared at her for a moment then turned to Guidance Heart and Flair Heart, who insisted on staying for Anger's exam. Guidance Heart took Anger's hand, "Are you alright?"

"I'll…be…fine…" Anger rasped out.

"You need to give your voice a rest," Take Care said.

Anger Heart ignored her, "As…long…as…I…was…be…ing…tor…tured…I…knew…you…would…be…safe…" Anger Heart started coughing.

"Enough!" Take Care's tension was showing, "Anger Heart, no more talking until your throat heals or you could end up permanently mute!"

Anger Heart still held a hand over his mouth to stifle his coughing and held up another to show he understood.

"Thank you, Anger Heart," Guidance touched his cheek then gave him a kiss. Take Care went over to a wheelchair and was about to push it over to Anger Heart, when the fox slid off the exam table.

As soon as his now much more sensitive feet touched the floor he sucked in air through his teeth and giggled slightly, "heehee *coughcough*" He struggled with each step he took.

"Anger Heart!" Take Care was becoming livid, "You need to take it easy."

"NO!" Anger Heart shouted and held up a hand to her, "I…won't…be…a…cripple!" he rasped out as he walked forwards, wincing with each step. He paused for a moment, gritting his teeth against the pain as his eight tails slowly merged back into one.

Anger Heart wobbled and Guidance immediately moved to support him, "I'll look after him, Take Care, don't worry."

Take Care sighed, "Alright, just be careful."

Outside, Guidance sighed, "I guess we're going to have to delay everyone's welcome party, or just not play."

Anger Heart shook his head, then made a motion as if drumming with drumsticks.

"Are you sure you can still drum?" Guidance asked. Anger Heart nodded. "Alright, but we need someone else to sing the male vocals, we've all heard Brave Heart's attempts," Guidance shuddered.

"I can sing."

Anger Heart and Guidance turned to face Flair Heart, who was staring up at them. Once he saw their attention he pumped his arms up, "I can sing for you dad!"

"Are you sure?" Guidance said, "You said you didn't want to sing for the Mulcaheys."

"I can do it for dad, I know I can!" Flair was bouncing on his feet as he looked up at them. Anger Heart smiled then reached out to tousle the pink raccoon's hair and nodded.

"Alright, but we're going to have to rehearse a lot for the next couple days," Guidance said.

"I'll do it, I promise!" Flair said as they headed for home.

OoOoO

Back in the clinic Take Care was comparing the analysis from Anger Heart with Get Well's notes for Redemption. Like with Anger Heart, Aqua and Lonesome had refused to leave Redemption while she was being treated.

"Same effects, but she doesn't seem to be holding up as well," Get Well said.

Redemption just sat up on the table, refusing to lie down as Lonesome and Aqua did their best to comfort her.

Take Care nodded to Get Well, who took the initiative and brought a wheelchair over for Redemption. "Can you two take her home and look after her for a couple days."

"We can," Aqua said, "What about Lily…"

Take Care felt sorry for the three, "I'm sorry, but she's dead."

Redemption nodded to confirm which caused Aqua and Lonesome to start crying. Take Care looked to Get Well who took over in ushering the three out and helping them get Redemption into the chair.

Take Care waited for them to leave then sighed. She would do the autopsy tomorrow, she needed sleep now.

OoOoO

As soon as the mission was over, Love Heart and Confidence Heart took their children and headed for home. Everyone needed a good night's sleep after those events.

The next morning, Love Heart was staring into his cereal bowl as he ate, slowly stirring the contents of the bowl between each mouthful.

"Mama, why's daddy staring at his food?" Shimmers asked.

"That's a good question, Love Heart?" Confidence nudged the green bear which jerked him out of his stupor.

"Huh? Oh just thinking about stuff, like all these new Care Bears that joined the family…" Love Heart looked up at his family.

"Yeah, I made a new friend with Pretty Heart," Mira smirked as she turned to her brother, "Maybe you should meet them more, Shimmers."

"Not a bad idea," Love Heart smiled and continued to eat. He kept his thoughts to himself until he was gathering up the breakfast dishes, "Miracle Heart, can you watch Shimmering Star for a couple hours. Mom and I need to go out for a while."

"I thought you were staying home now, daddy," Shimmering Star tugged at his father's leg fur as he set about washing the dishes.

"I'm not going on missions, and this is something that just came up I need to take care off," he handed the last bowl to Confidence to dry then crouched down in front of him, "I've been home all week other than yesterday getting you toilet trained."

Shimmers looked down at the diaper he still wore, "I'm getting better."

"Yes, you are. Just be a good boy now while we go out to run an errand or two, ok?" Love Heart waited until Shimmers looked him in the eye.

"Ok, daddy." Shimmers nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll look after him," Mira promised.

"Good. Let's go then, Love Heart," Confidence grabbed Love Heart's arm and pulled him out and out the door.

"So where are we going all of a sudden?" Confidence did some stretches as they stood outside their house.

"To Big Star Point. I have some questions for the Star." Love Heart's face had hardened now that they were outside. He didn't waste any time and flew off into the sky and towards Big Star Point, Confidence Heart hurrying to catch up as he did so.

Love Heart and Confidence landed at the bottom of Big Star Point. They didn't even need to call out before the Star appeared before them.

"Expecting us?" Love Heart asked.

"I have been for some time, ever since you found these last few family members." The Star said.

"More than that." Love Heart looked up at the Great Wishing Star with serious intent. "About these new arrivals from the Lylat system, why do they look like us? How can they be the same kind of animals found on Earth?"

The Star looked contemplative for a moment before it answered, "Lylat. I haven't thought about that system for a long time." Before they could say anything else, the Star continued, "The catalyst has existed for over 5,000 years, and I have existed for almost 4,000, created by the wishes and good feelings the catalyst absorbed as it flew through space. I knew I had to create guardians of caring for Earth but it would be millennia before I could do so properly. So I decided to test my powers 3,000 years ago when I found a viable system to support sentient life. I took animals from earth, many animals but not so much to endanger them on Earth, (before such things were a major concern to animal life on this planet) and I placed them on the inhabitable planets of the system and began to experiment with them. I didn't want to kill any of them so I left them to breed for two centuries before I began my experiments. It took 300 years but I was able to elevate them to bipedal sentience on every world and infuse them with the knowledge of language and technology I could see humans developing. I haven't given them any thought since I left them to their own devices and I never expected their technological development to outpace that of humanity."

Confidence Heart smirked and folded her arms, "Maybe Care Bears and Lylatians are just smarter than humans."

Love Heart smirked and rolled his eyes, "Right. Thank you, that does answer a lot. But why is the Care Bear Family mostly bears, heck mostly mammals I think there's just Cozy Heart Penguin, Soaring Heart Eagle and Justin Case Spider that are some other kind of animal."

The star sighed sadly. "There originally was a much more balanced assortment of animals among your kind, but when No-Heart and Dark Heart found you I had to pull the founders and the few cubs they had found up to the Kingdom of Caring before their ship sank and everything was lost. The rest of them: reptiles, amphibians, birds, even sea creatures that could live in the lake and rivers hid on earth but… for the last year their lights have been disappearing."

"Mental Heart!" Confidence growled.

"That one is an immense force of hatred, one that equals No-Heart's own hatred of the Care Bear Family.I commend you for finding the lost Care Bears before they could be slaughtered."

Love Heart folded his arms in an attempt to stop shaking with rage. "About that, why are Teacher Bear, Soaring Heart and Mounty Heart older than the rest of the family?"

The star seemed to nod, "They were my first experiments. Teacher Bear was the very first attempt to create a true Care Bear, and a near success but she was flawed, at least on a biological level. Her Symbol, while functional, lacks some of the abilities of your own, or at least it did, but her body constantly affects the life around her, which is why her dog mother became nearly human-like and how spending one night with baby animals accidentally created an entire family of Care Bear Cousins I never anticipated. Soaring Heart and Mounty Heart were my second attempts, and first try at animals that weren't bears. They were successful but I needed time to make sure my process would work without failure, they were only two of ten who accepted the process, others I tried to create exhibited no changes at all."

"So she's a flawed prototype huh?" Confidence said.

"That's all, thank you." Love Heart turned away, "Let's go home, don't want to keep the kids waiting."

The star watched them go, unsure of what to say.

Love Heart felt his heartphone ringing as he flew out of the desert leading to Big Star Point and slowed to a stop in mid-air to answer. "Hello?"

"Love Heart, it's Take Care Bear. I need you to stop by the hospital. There's something I need to show you."

"Alright, I'm on my way." Love Heart hung up then turned to Confidence, who had doubled back when she saw him stop. "Take Care needs to see me, can you head home and start spreading the word?"

Confidence grinned, "No problem! Can't wait to see everyone faces when they find out their true origins." Confidence rocketed off as Love Heart changed direction to fly towards the hospital.

OoOoO

Even in med school, Take Care hated doing autopsies. They were considered a right of passage for med students, seeing and touching a dead body (with the right sterile protection of course). Other students and even her professors had tried to break her by making her do more than she was required to do, but she had soldiered on through just to show them how determined she was and that she wouldn't be scared off by their cruel tactics. She had far more experience than she wanted.

Part of what had helped Take Care through their torment was the naïve thought that Care Bears were immortal and this was something she would never have to deal with in real life. That belief was shaken when Brave Heart almost drowned, and she barely managed to resuscitate him before he received any brain damage, not to mention Cautious Heart being on death's door when she first adopted her. Though she liked to think of herself as sensible, some part Take Care still felt a bit too secure in the idea that the Care Bears couldn't die. Until Flash Heart was killed.

Though she didn't see the body this had shaken her, as it had everyone in the Care Bear Family, and the funeral was a wake up call. Another tragic incident a few years ago had shown them the same fear realized, though they didn't talk about that due to the pain it had caused…

But now, she stared at the emaciated body of the red bear Lily. She would have to do this. It was her duty to determine how she had died. She was grateful that no one was around to witness this. Even if she wasn't someone Take Care had known, seeing her body was a bitter pill to swallow.

Take Care took a deep breath behind her surgical mask and steeled herself, picking up her surgery tools and began to cut.

It was over an hour later when Take Care finished her autopsy, taking the notes she needed to tell everyone else what was going on. The one thing she didn't initially think she would do was take a DNA sample, but upon seeing the eight-pointed star birthmark on the bear's forehead she felt compelled to do so. She had been told that only those with unicorn ancestry could have this mark. After she got the test results she decided to do a few more tests, just to be certain.

Once she finished the report and got the test results she called Love Heart on her office phone.

The phone ran three times before Love Heart answered, "Hello?"

Take Care sat back in her office chair, "Love Heart, it's Take Care Bear. I need you to stop by the hospital. There's something I need to show you."

"Alright, I'm on my way." Love Heart hung up.

Take Care set the report down and looked at Teacher Bear's file. In the week between her arrival and the rescue Take Care had done some tests on Teacher Bear with the blood sample she had hesitantly provided for her. Might as well get another revelation out of the way while she was doing this. She dialed Teacher Bear's number.

It took considerably longer for the elderly bear to answer. "Hello? Did I pick this up right?"

"Yes, you did, Teacher Bear." Take Care said, "Can you come down to the hospital, I have something I need to talk to you about. Relax your life isn't in danger but I think you should know this too. But please come alone."

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Teacher Bear didn't hang up for a moment so Take Care spoke again, "The red button with the phone symbol."

"Thank you, Take-" Teacher Bear pushed the end call button before she finished. At least she was adapting faster than everyone had anticipated.

Love Heart entered the clinic a moment later. "I was on my way home when you called. What's going on, Take Care?"

Take Care picked up Lily's autopsy report, "I thought you should know about Lily. The dead bear they brought back yesterday." She saw Love Heart tense slightly but continued, "Before she died she was suffering from the same damage as Anger Heart and Redemption Heart: severe sore through, broken ribs and soft tissue damage, but far more severe. From what Defender Bear told me, the cause of death was fatal hilarity. She literally laughed to death, though the more direct cause was a punctured lung. One of her ribs broke off and pierced it and if she was laughing at the time she would have had no time to stop exhaling before she suffocated."

Love Heart shuddered, "A horrible way to die. How close were Anger Heart and Redemption?"

"Not that close, but they would have suffered the same fate eventually. Anger Heart's holding up better at least, he's more physically resilient than Redemption." Take Care turned to the last page of the report, the DNA tests, "But that's not the only reason I wanted to tell you this. According to these, she was your sister."

"What?!" Love Heart leaned over, bug-eyed, to stare at the results.

"At least that's what the tests said. I ran a few more and found something else," Take Care pointed to one section, "I've only seen this pattern pop up once before, with Truth Bear. It's the same variation in DNA that marks him as a clone of Defender Bear, created with the same magical process."

Love Heart's face hardened as he stepped back, "No-Heart created her." He stated flatly.

"That's the only conclusion I can draw as well." Take Care sighed, "Her three friends might know more, but aside from the gender change and younger age she's a near exact clone of you."

"May I see her?" Love Heart kept this tone level but it was obvious he was seething internally by the way he clenched his fists.

Take Care nodded and shut the file. "Yes, but not for too long. Put on surgical gear first."

Clad in a surgical smock, mask, gloves and hairnet, Love Heart stood over Lily's body which had thankfully been sewn back up and cleaned up by Take Care. Love Heart touched the star birthmark on her forehead. "Lily, who were you? What did you like? What did you want to be? I'm sorry I never got to meet you, for your sake and your friends. I wish… I wish I could have saved you too." Love Heart turned away and wiped some tears from his eyes.

He looked Take Care in the eyes, "We should have a funeral for her."

Take Care nodded, "That's why I cleaned her up. Now let's go, there's one more thing we need to discuss."

As if on cue, as soon as they had disposed of the surgical gear, Teacher Bear came walking through the front door. She no longer carried her cane everywhere, though sometimes she fell back on using it, and she wore a small metal button of her tummy symbol safety-pinned to her school-marm dress, of which she apparently owned several full sets.

"Oh my, I didn't think I could make it this far." She smiled, "But being up here makes me feel so much more alive, almost ten years younger too."

Love Heart smiled, "Keep thinking like that and you might just get there."

Teacher Bear chuckled, "I don't know about that, but at least I'm never wanting for help up here. Now what did you need to talk about, Take Care?"

"First, I need to ask if you're alright with Love Heart hearing this as well. It's not serious but I must respect doctor-patient confidentiality." Take Care looked from Love Heart to Teacher Bear.

Teacher Bear looked at the green bear, then nodded, "I'm alright with him knowing, but I would like to sit down."

"Go right ahead, we don't need an exam room for this," Take Care picked up Teacher Bear's file as she walked closer to Teacher Bear. "I've gone over your tests a few times and I've found something interesting." She pulled out a picture taken from one of Teacher Bear's tests and pointed to an odd heart shape on the picture, "See this?" she looked to both Teacher and Love Heart, "This is the agape, or what could be best described as the 'caring gland', all Care Bears have one and it is what fuels all of our 'caring abilities' like the stare, item creation and storage. The best way to put this, Teacher Bear, is that your agape is unstable."

"Unstable?" Teacher Bear felt her heart jump into her chest.

"Yes, it's unfocused compared to all of ours which is why it can't appear on your clothing. You can still use the Care Bear Stare but only if your symbol is exposed."

"I don't know about that," Teacher Bear fiddled with the button on her dress, "I've worn clothes for over 80 years around people where I was expected to, even though I can tell it doesn't really affect us I mean," She looked at Love Heart and Take Care, neither of whom were wearing anything other than their fur, "No one up here looks 'naked' and even some of my children are embracing it. I just can't really change that about myself, at least I'll need time to adjust."

"We can probably get Bright Heart to rig up some caring crystals to your button so you can focus your stare through it," Love Heart suggested.

"Hold that thought, Love Heart, there's another side-effect," Take Care changed to another page, "Your agape is leaking."

"Leaking?" Love Heart and Teacher Bear asked at the same time.

"Yes. The caring energy you have stored inside of you is constantly leaking out. The best way to describe it is that you're constantly emitting 'caring radiation'." Take Care walked over to her desk and pulled out a small clear plastic box with a glowing chunk of white and blue crystal inside of it, "This is a caring crystal, basically caring energy condensed into a solid form. These crystals are also radioactive but over a very short distance and they don't affect Care Bears at all since our bodies are naturally suffused with that same energy. I did some tests and found out that you emit the same kind of radiation constantly."

"Should I be worried?" Teacher Bear was shaking.

"No," Take Care smiled and shook her head, "The rate of radiation is very slow and localized around you, and in this environment it just blends into the same 'background radiation' that exists everywhere up here. This does explain some things about the story you told me. You remember when all your children transformed."

Teacher Bear stared down at her hands which were in her lap, "I'll never forget that day."

"Well this is why that happened. The radiation you emitted is what caused them to transform." Take Care said.

"So I was right not to take them to the petting zoo," Teacher Bear sighed in relief.

"That might have caused an explosion of Care Animal population, but none of your children have the same effect. Their agapes all function like the rest of ours. As for your radiation," Take Care checked her notes for a moment, "It looks like it only severely affects infant animals, whose bodies are more receptive to this, except the animals up here. Have you been to the Forest of Feelings?"

Teacher Bear shook her head, "Not yet."

"Well we have a bunch of normal animals that live up here, mostly small birds, except they're more colorful than ones you find on earth. I've seen a few pink robins before but they mostly say out of sight." Take Care said. "As far as I Can tell, the 'background radiation' of the Kingdom of Caring inoculates them to this so they just look like more colorful versions of animals found on earth instead of full Care Bear Cousins. Animals on earth would be affected, though adults would only experience minor changes compared to infants."

"Now that I think about it, Freckles changed quite a bit after she found me," Teacher Bear looked up.

"Freckles?" Love Heart sounded confused. He'd been wrapped up with the rescue operations and his children for the last week.

"The Dalmatian who adopted me as a child, my mother…" Teacher Bear shook her head to disperse the sadness, "Mrs. Mulcahey said that after Freckles found me she started acting more intelligent, listening to commands and following directions without extra training or persuasion. Actually," Teacher Bear pulled out her wallet and showed them an old sepia tone picture of a female Dalmatian dog smiling with what was evidently a toddler aged Teacher Bear riding on her back and pointed a heart shaped spot on the dog's chest. "I always thought it was odd that one of mom's spots looked so much like a heart."

"Her face looks almost human," Love Heart commented.

"She's actually smiling at the camera," Take Care noted.

"Actually, there's something I learned today too," Love Heart said as Teacher Bear put the photo away, "I went to see the Great Wishing Star today to get some answers. Teacher Bear, you're 84, that makes you older than anyone else in the Care Bear Family."

Teacher Bear nodded, "Grams told me that too."

Love Heart folded his arms, "Right, so I asked him why and he told me the whole story. Teacher Bear, you were the first Care Bear he ever created, the best way to think of it is that you are a flawed prototype for the rest of us, hence the unstable caring gland. He took his time to refine the process before he created Mounty Heart and Soaring Heart, then all of us."

"That does makes sense," Teacher Bear touched the front of her dress right over where her tummy symbol was underneath. "Is that everything?"

Take Care nodded, "Yes."

"Good, excuse me." Teacher Bear got up and headed out the door.

"Crap," Love Heart muttered, "I need to talk to her." He bolted after her a moment later."

Love Heart caught up to Teacher Bear a moment later outside. "Teacher Bear, Bluebelle wait!" She hadn't gone more than a few meters and didn't even have to slow down for Love Heart to catch her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I was just…"

"It's alright, I'm not offended," Teacher Bear put a hand on the green bear's shoulder, "I'm just dealing with a lot lately, revelations about what I am and why I was created. It's not everyone who gets to hear about why their god created them."

"I don't think the Great Wishing Star is a god," Love Heart chuckled nervously.

"Well it seems to me that's the best description that fits him. Charity Heart is having a hard time dealing with that revelation." Teacher Bear sighed, "Most of them are having a hard time adjusting to the new environment, except Curious Heart and Pretty Heart. I don't mind being the first, even if part of me doesn't work properly." She touched the front of her dress then her button again.

"I wouldn't say that," Love Heart patted her on the back, "I mean that 'radiation' is what gave you all your kids right? You saved them and brought them here." Love Heart chuckled, "Maybe we should go around to animal shelters and pick up a bunch of unwanted baby animals to bring here so you can transform them."

Teacher Bear gave Love Heart a bewildered look, "I can't tell if you're serious, but since Care Bears can have cubs of their own that sounds like an unnecessarily huge responsibility to dump on everyone."

Love Heart shrugged, "Maybe, then again maybe that's the kind of fresh blood the Care Bear Family needs, and when your kids decide to grow up maybe you'll get some empty nest syndrome and want to do that."

"Let's start with saving the world before we plan that far ahead. Actually could you tell me what's all going on here and with that giant spaceship sitting over there," Take Care pointed to where the Great Fox still sat on the wide open cloud banks that led to the old caring castle.

"Right, guess we haven't filled you in. Want to come over while I explain, I promised my kids I'd be back in a couple hours," Love Heart pointed towards his house.

"I don't see the harm. But after this I need to go see Bright Heart about what Take Care said about putting crystals in this button," she touched it again, "something about using it to stare."

"OK. I'll take you to him, after lunch." Love Heart led Teacher Bear towards his house.

OoOoO

"Goodbye, Lily. I wish you could have met our kid," Lonesomeheart set a bouquet of red Lily's on her friend's grave. Aqua Bear couldn't stop crying and Redemption didn't even try to talk, her throat was still too sore.

Most of the Care Bear family had showed up but didn't say much. Even though they were saddened by the loss of life, none of them knew Lily at all so they let her three friends share their sorrow with them as support.

As everyone dispersed, Indy headed for Take Care's office, wearing the longcoat he usually wore into battle but without any of the other clothing he usually wore underneath. He approached the house door and, feeling awkward, knocked instead of just going inside.

"Indy?" Take Care was surprised to see him there.

"Hi, Take Care. I didn't want to talk in front of everyone at the funeral." Indy took a deep breath, "You know the welcome party is in three days right?"

Take Care nodded, "Yes."

"I'm on my way to help set up. They want me to help because I can put things up high without climbing," Indy cleared his throat, "I'm not going to the party so I wanted to ask, would you like to come to my house for supper that night?"

Take Care started, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Indy blushed but didn't back down, "Yes, I am."

Take Care just stood there in awkward silence for a minute. Indy wanted to run away but forced himself to wait there for Take Care's answer.

Finally, Take Care smiled, "Sure, I'll be there."

Indy felt his nerves finally relax, "Thank you. Excuse me, I have to go help them set up." He turned and walked away. Take Care shut the door and went to sit down on her couch with a smile on her face. Whether this would go good or bad she would be relieved to finally figure out how she felt. She paused when she went to grab a book, how did she feel? She shook her head, she'd let that stew for a while, she just had to wait three days to find out the answer.

OoOoO

The welcome party started three days later in the late afternoon. Anger Heart was still too sore to speak and still had trouble walking on his sensitive feet, but with Guidance's help he was set up behind his drum set, with a small table for food nearby so he wouldn't have to get up to eat.

Everyone gathered in the Hall of Hearts as the band "Magic Harmony" set up on the stage. Anger Heart was at his drum set, a visibly pregnant Harmony Bear behind her synthesizer, Guidance Heart and Brave Heart going over the guitars they would need and Flair Heart pacing nervously on stage.

The new arrivals all sat close to the stage. Soaring Heart Eagle and Mounty Heart Moose sat next to Teacher Bear, swapping stories, while her cubs were talking with Aqua, Lonesome and Redemption, though Redemption was mostly just listening. Melancholy sat among them as well, mostly talking to Pretty Heart, Curious Heart and Grateful Heart as they waited for their food and the show to start.

Once they were all ready, Brave Heart took the center stage at the microphone stand. "Alright everyone. I know this had taken a while but I wanted to welcome all our new family members," he pointed to the closest table to the stage, "I'd introduce them but I know you've all had a good chance to meet them and I'm sure you don't want me to spend all that time on that."

"Alright dad, woo!" The shout came from his daughter, Joyful Heart Liger, who sat with his wife Feral Heart Tigress and their son Royal Heart Liger, both of whom had to quiet her down.

Brave Heart smiled and waved to his family, "But first I do have a new member of our band to introduce. Anger Heart's voice is out of commission so his son, Flair Heart Raccoon, has offered to take his place with us." Brave Heart turned to the side to beckon the pink raccoon forwards. Flair Heart was nervous as he stepped up, but some cheers from his friends Miracle Heart and Marina Bear gave him enough confidence to wave to the crowd.

"Alright then, let's start the show," Brave Heart went to grab an acoustic guitar while Guidance was tuning a bass guitar. Guidance moved close to Flair Heart to reassure him that she was there.

Flair Heart took a deep breath and carefully lowered the microphone stand in front of him, or at least tried to as it crashed down, sending an audible shock through the audience. Flair blushed in embarrassment but set the microphone stand to the right height. He took a deep breath then began to sing as the rest of the band followed his voice.

(Faith of the Heart by Rod Stewart watch?v=TLs4MGTTXRU )

"_It's been a long road,  
To get from there to here.  
It's been a long time,  
But my time is finally here._

_And I can feel a change in the wind right now.  
Nothing's in my way.  
And they're not gonna hold me down no more.  
No they're not gonna hold me down._

_Cause I've got faith of the heart.  
I'm going where my heart will take me.  
I've got faith to believe.  
I can do anything.  
I've got strength of the soul.  
And no one's going to bend or break me.  
I can reach any star.  
I've got faith,  
I've got faith,  
Faith of the heart._

_It's been a long night,  
Trying to find my way.  
Been through the darkness,  
Now I finally have my day._

_And I will see my dream come alive at last.  
I will touch the sky.  
And they're not gonna hold me down no more.  
No they're not gonna change my mind._

_Cause I've got faith of the heart.  
I'm going where my heart will take me.  
I've got faith to believe.  
I can do anything.  
I've got strength of the soul.  
And no one's going to bend or break me.  
I can reach any star.  
I've got faith,  
Faith of the heart._

_I know the wind's so cold,  
I've seen the darkest days.  
But now the winds I feel,  
Are only winds of change.  
I've been through the fire,  
And I've been through the rain,  
But I'll be fine._

_Cause I've got faith of the heart.  
I'm going where my heart will take me.  
I've got faith to believe.  
I can do anything.  
I've got strength of the soul.  
And no one's going to bend or break me.  
I can reach any star.  
Cause I've got faith,  
Cause I've got faith,  
Faith of the heart_

_Faith of the heart.  
I'm going where my heart will take me.  
I've got faith to believe.  
And no one's going to bend or break me.  
I can reach any star.  
'Cause I've got faith,  
'Cause I've got faith,  
Faith of the heart..._

_It's been a Long Road..."_

Flair Heart was breathing heavily but nevertheless signaled to the rest of the band that he was ready to continue. Harmony grinned and started up the music on her synthesizer as she spoke, "Now for the listening fun of our new oldest family members, something that might bring up some old memories." As the music started the video screen behind them began playing images, which Flair sang along to, Guidance and Harmony accompanying him on the chorus.

("We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel watch?v=YjeC_RdWDH4 )

"_Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray  
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio_

_Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television  
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe_

_Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom  
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"_

_Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen  
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it_

_Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev  
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc_

_Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron  
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"_

_Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team  
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland_

_Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev  
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it_

_Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac  
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"_

_Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball  
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide_

_Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia  
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go_

_U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy  
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it_

_Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"  
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion_

_"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania  
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson_

_Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex  
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it_

_Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again  
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock  
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline  
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan_

_"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide  
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz  
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law  
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
But when we are gone  
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it_

_We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it"_

By now, Flair was starting to feel the pressure of performing. Guidance Heart signaled Harmony and stepped forwards. "Alright, we're going to let Flair rest for a few minutes while Harmony and I take over." She nodded to Flair to let him know it was alright to go take a rest.

In the audience, Teacher Bear had been watching with more intent that she thought possible. Memories had flashed through her mind of the events the song was speaking of, especially the mention of the Korean war.

"Mom, are you alright?" Passive Heart asked.

"Just thinking about the past, I was alive for all of that, even if I don't have first hand experience," she teared up slightly but wiped the tears away, "It's just memories."

It took a minute to pick up the new song but a moment later, Anger Heart started the opening drum beats while Harmony and Guidance sang

("Sirius" by Eir Aoi, cover by Sapphire watch?v=lz-ZGAvGCyI )

"_Starting now_

_No more rules allowed_

_Cause I'm throwing off the shackles_

_I'm breaking free and skipping the toll_

_No stopping me I sprint to my goal_

_Even if I lose my way_

_I'll make it okay_

_Healing wounds from the path that I've sown_

_I'll change the threads of fate turn 'em into my own_

_Shining brightly for all to see_

_I hold my destiny_

_Just like a star_

_Who knew I'd come this far_

_'Cause life's too short to sit there crying_

_And I'm too busy flying_

_With luck my guide and friend_

_I'll see it right through the end_

_Blazing wildly, burning out_

_I wanna scream and shout_

_All through the night_

_Cause I was born to fight_

_Until the day_

_I finally reach you_

_I'll make my dreams come true_

_'Cause starting now today_

_It's time to find my own way_

_But with my rules"_

("Ambiguous" Cover by Sapphire watch?v=Lje03iQS84A )

"_Cut the cord_

_And face tomorrow_

_Smash the door down_

_Takin' charge_

_All the way..._

_On the edge and goin' under_

_While the plastic world around me_

_Surrounds me_

_And holds me down_

_Blasted off into the thunder_

_Won't admit that they'd just ground me_

_If they found me_

_As I am now_

_You I couldn't fool anymore, though_

_You were born rebel, a fighter like me_

_You were more than willin' to break my guard_

_And set the fire free_

_Dial it up_

_And know we got this_

_Time to show some skin_

_Hearts laid bare_

_But I don't care_

_Baby, it' a rush of pure adrenaline_

_Cut the cord_

_And face tomorrow_

_Smash the door down_

_Takin' charge_

_All the way_

_For sure_

_Gonna change the world_

_And this time make it yours_

_(Yay-yeah)_

_(Hey-yeah)_

_Undivided_

_Stand united with me!"_

The much higher energy songs got some of the family dancing, but as the song petered out Flair came back to the front and nodded to Harmony as he pulled out his harmonica. Harmony got up and walked to the upright piano at the back of the stage, which Brave Heart helped her pull forwards.

Flair took a deep breath as he walked up to the microphone, "I want to sing… my favorite song… to end this show" he took a deep breath and waited for Harmony to start the piano music, then started to play his harmonica before he sang.

(Piano Man by Billy Joel watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0 )

"_It's nine o'clock on a Saturday  
The regular crowd shuffles in  
There's an old man sitting next to me  
Making love to his tonic and gin_

_He says, "Son can you play me a memory  
I'm not really sure how it goes  
But it's sad and it's sweet  
And I knew it complete  
When I wore a younger man's clothes."_

_Sing us a song you're the piano man  
Sing us a song tonight  
Well we're all in the mood for a melody  
And you've got us feeling alright_

_Now John at the bar is a friend of mine  
He gets me my drinks for free  
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke  
But there's someplace that he'd rather be_

_He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."  
As a smile ran away from his face  
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star  
If I could get out of this place."_

_Now Paul is a real estate novelist  
Who never had time for a wife  
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy  
And probably will be for life_

_And the waitress is practicing politics  
As the businessmen slowly get stoned  
Yes they're sharing a drink they call "Loneliness"  
But it's better than drinking alone_

_Sing us a song you're the piano man  
Sing us a song tonight  
Well we're all in the mood for a melody  
And you've got us feeling alright_

_It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday  
And the manager gives me a smile  
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see  
To forget about life for a while_

_And the piano it sounds like a carnival  
And the microphone smells like a beer  
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar  
And say, "Man, what are you doing here?"_

_Sing us a song you're the piano man  
Sing us a song tonight  
Well we're all in the mood for a melody  
And you've got us feeling alright"_

The song caused quite a few tears in the audience, Melancholy Bear was outright bawling. The audience applauded politely as Flair Heart stepped back, his eyes teary as well and clearly flustered from the effort. Anger Heart patted his son on the head and nodded to him to let him know he'd done a good job. Flair just hugged his father's leg in response.

OoOoO

Once Get well and Cautious Heart had set out to the welcome party, Take Care shut down the hospital and headed for Independent Bear's house in the Forest of Feelings. It was an eerily quiet walk through the Forest of Feelings, fallen leaves crackling under her feet and just hearing the music coming out of the Hall of Hearts off in the distance until the trees screened it out.

Take Care knocked on Indy's door and a moment later, Indy appeared. He wasn't even wearing his longcoat as he smiled at her. "Please come in." He gestured into the house.

Take Care smiled as she got a whiff of supper, turning into Indy's kitchen where the food had been set out: cream of potato soup, crusty French loaf garlic bread, fusilli with pesto and a jug of grape juice. Take Care's ears perked up as she heard what sounded like quiet country music playing out of a speaker nearby, probably being played from Indy's heartphone.

Take Care and Indy sat down at opposite ends of the table and served themselves. Take Care held her judgement of the food until she had tasted all of it. "It's delicious."

Indy smiled, "Thanks. I spent most of the day working on this."

"It shows," Take Care took another bite of pasta and watched him digging in, he was clearly quite hungry, must not have stopped to eat himself in the midst of this, but still it was a welcome change from just boiling pasta or eating canned food like she usually did, especially on busy days.

As she ate, Take Care found herself staring at Indy and thinking about his blurted out confession weeks ago, and Get Well's assessment of her reaction. What did she think of him? He was a good friend, certainly, but it felt like more than that even before his confession. They had gotten to know each other fairly well even before her empty nest syndrome started to set in, and when it did he was there almost every day, even if he couldn't do much. Even now that Get Well had returned and most of Take Care's time was spent drilling her daughter on medical procedures, and all the medical work that came with adding so many new members to the Care Bear Family, he was still there to support her in spirit. In fact, the confession walk was the first thing he had clearly done for himself in their relationship, and the first time she had actively thought about their relationship as more than friends.

When most of the food finished, the music from the speaker stopped. Indy had pulled out his heartphone while Take Care had been lost in thoughts and switched the music over to something. His nerves were clearly failing him as he stood up and cleared his throat, holding a hand out to Take Care. "Take Care, would you like to dance?"

"Dance?" Take Care was taken aback. She heard the nerves in his voice and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Maybe it was a little cheesy but she could see how fragile he seemed, a fragility he never let through the stoic shell he usually locked himself inside.

She smiled and stood, "OK, but I don't really know how to dance."

"Me either," Indy admitted as he pulled her away from the table.

Their 'dance' was little more than them holding each other close and slowly swaying along with the music from the radio.

("Alone" by Heart watch?v=1Cw1ng75KP0 )

_I hear the ticking of the clock  
I'm lying here the room's pitch dark  
I wonder where you are tonight  
No answer on the telephone  
And the night goes by so very slow  
Oh I hope that it won't end though  
Alone_

_Till now I always got by on my own  
I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone  
How do I get you alone_

_You don't know how long I have wanted  
To touch your lips and hold you tight, oh  
You don't know how long I have waited  
and I was going to tell you tonight  
But the secret is still my own  
and my love for you is still unknown  
Alone  
Till now I always got by on my own  
I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone  
How do I get you alone_

_How do I get you alone  
How do I get you alone  
Alone, alone_

"I've felt this way for a long time," Indy said, "I mean, I had my family and my duties, but until I met you…I never had a deeper reason to care about things other than my own survival or my duty to keep everyone safe. I was so scared about telling you how I felt, about how much it would hurt if you rejected me, or worse if it ended our friendship. I just wish it didn't take the end of the world for me to stop being so scared." Indy had started to cry. "I love you, Take Care Bear."

Indy's words pierced deep into Take Care's heart. Here he was, someone not dependent on her, not even needing her to keep him alive most of the time, someone she trusted as much as Bright Heart, Gentle Heart and especially Noble Heart pouring his heart out to her. She felt her heart melt as she finally decided to take Get Well's advice and decide, for once, to do something entirely for herself without thinking about how anyone else would react.

"I love you Independent Bear."

Indy was stunned, "Really?"

Take Care smiled, "Yes, really." She was starting to tear up too, overcome by her emotions. "I think I have for a while now, I just never thought about it or wanted to think about it. I thought it was selfish because I have a duty to everyone else and I've been surrounded by people I already thought of as family for so long that I never knew how to feel about someone outside that who cared for me just as much. I love you, Indy."

After so long waiting, it just felt so natural. The music had stopped and they leaned in, closer and closer, hearts pounding as they knew things were forever changed between them. Nerves evaporated as Indy and Take Care pulled close and finally kissed. Time froze for them and they hoped this moment would last forever.


	16. Secret Weapon

Chapter 16: Secret Weapon

Illyana had to catch her breath as the high speed transportation stopped and she found herself in a vast cavern over looked by the grey uncaring crystal throne upon which No-Heart sat.

"What is going on?! Where are we?! Who and what is that?!" Illyana pointed up at No-Heart.

Mental Heart bowed towards No-Heart, "This is Lord No-Heart. He is our master, yours included as well."

"I see you've brought a new ally to serve me," No-Heart looked down at her, "What worth does she have to our goals."

"Human resources." Mental Heart looked up at No-Heart, "She has a large number of mercenaries under her control and the ability to function in the human world without the interference of the human government."

"A pity then that you brought her at this time," Quenos approached the two, "I've just completed the prototype for our new weapon with the resources from Professor Cold Heart, Doctor Fright and Andross, and I plan to deploy it at the next meeting of the United Nations."

It was only then that Illyana noticed the massive starship parked inside the cavern. "What is all of this, and you!" She spotted Andross approaching her.

"They will get you acquainted with what's going on. I need to speak to Lord No-Heart." Mental Heart stood up and approached the throne as Andross and Quenos began to show Illyana around.

"Well. What have you managed to accomplish?" No-Heart leaned back, expecting a satisfactory answer.

"Despite their leads, I managed to kill about 127 of the Care Bears lost on earth, I can remember a few, two blue horses, an old rabbit with her own family…"

"Enough, I don't care about the details," No-Heart waved him off, "Is there anything else?"

Mental Heart seemed contemplative for a moment, "Yes, I encountered an anomaly when I found them defending an old eagle and moose. A brown bear Lylatian who seemed… off. I would have brought this to your attention sooner but I needed to be certain about my suspicions."

"What suspicions were those?" No-Heart would have normally bellowed and ranted at a servant for failing to report this, but due to his success he granted Mental Heart more leeway than he had anyone else in his service.

"I believe he does not belong here, in fact he is the same as the leader of the Care Bears, Tenderheart. If what I glimpsed in his mind is correct then this bear is Tenderheart from the future." Mental Heart waited for No-Heart's response, but was interrupted by Cold Heart who had come over to eavesdrop.

"If he's from the future that means we've won!" the professor gave a sinister grin, "Why else come back in time to mettle unless we are going to win?"

"That would appear to be the case," Mental Heart said, "But if he is here that means he is interfering with this certainty, and no doubt knows what we are planning."

"Then you should put a stop to him, once you confirm this suspicion." No-Heart sat up straighter, tugging at one of the cords feeding uncaring energy from his crystal throne into him, "We will see how our new weapon performs at the U.N. and if it fails catastrophically then you will ensure this future brown bear's demise at any cost, save your own life, Mental Heart, I will need you alive if all other plans fails."

"Of course, Lord No-Heart," Mental Heart bowed again.

OoOoO

Take Care Bear decided to tidy up her office and exam rooms the day after her dinner date with Indy. Though she kept everything organized, every so often she had to go through everything as a touch up, counting supplies she needed to get picked up and make sure everything was in a place that could be easily found in an emergency.

Take Care went about her tasks with a smile on her face and humming the tune to one of her favorite country songs. She felt so light on her feet she literally danced between tasks, never missing a beat or a count of her medical supplies.

Get Well Bear and Cautious Heart Cat were drawn to their mother's humming and watched in confusion as she danced around the exam room then into the waiting room to organize the reception desk, followed by Cautious and Get Well.

"So, did you have a good date last night?" Get Well asked.

Take Care didn't break concentration or even lose focus as she replied, "It was magical."

Cautious Heart shuddered, "OK, mom, this is too weird. I mean you're acting like Cheer or Love-a-Lot right now."

"Maybe," Take Care didn't even seem to register what Cautious had said.

Cautious Heart shook her head, "Now I know something's up."

As if to answer her question, Independent Bear stepped through the front door with a big smile on his face. "Good morning, Take Care."

Take Care was out of her chair in an instant, "Good morning Indy!" She darted over to Indy who caught her in a big hug. Then they kissed.

Cautious Heart threw up her arms, "Alright, I'm going out until things start making sense again." She turned and left by the side door even before they broke their kiss.

Get Well was grinning as she approached them, "So this is why you've been dancing around the office. Told you you were in love with him."

Take Care laughed, "Ok, you were right Get Well. I've never felt like this before." She leaned her head up against Indy's chest.

"Me neither," Indy smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I just had to come over today to make sure I wasn't dreaming again."

"You're not," Take Care looked up at him and giggled, unable to contain her giddiness as they kissed again.

Get Well stepped back, "Cautious Heart is right, it's weird seeing you like this." She smiled and shook her head.

The moment was interrupted when the front door opened again and Anger Heart walked in. Take Care's doctor instincts took over in an instant as she and Indy separated and her normal serious demeanor returned. "Anger Heart? You should be resting."

Anger Heart had either not noticed their intimate moment or it didn't matter to him what he had seen. "Actually, I don't think I need to." His voice didn't sound raspy at all.

Take Care was taken aback. "Alright, into the exam room."

Once the exam was finished, Take Care had to check it twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Anger Heart… if I hadn't checked you earlier this week I wouldn't be able to tell you were even injured. I know Magi recover faster than normal Care Bears but this… even your foot calluses look like they've come back with years of development. Did you get magical healing?"

Anger Heart shook his head, "I didn't get anyone to heal me, no, I just started feeling better every day after I woke up, until this morning when I felt back to normal." He looked up at her.

Take Care was inclined to believe him but something told her he wasn't being 100% truthful. "Do you know why this happened?"

"I think I do… it's my kitsune powers." Anger Heart looked back at his still single tail, "Life Heart said I'm a nascent Kyuubi which means my powers are still growing. I think they're affected by my desires and emotions. I guess I just wanted to get better that badly."

"I see." Take Care did her best to understand magic, but it seemed like there was always one more unanswered question about how magic worked, and that was before she had to distinguish between magic and psionics. "Thank you for telling me. If you need to tell me anything else, then let me know."

"OK." Anger Heart slid off the exam table and left the office.

"He's more worried than he's letting you know," Indy said as Take Care emerged from the office.

Take Care nodded, "Yeah, but much as I want to I can't force it out of him."

"I'm more worried about why he let himself be tortured instead of breaking out on his own." Indy put an arm around Take Care's shoulders and she leaned up against him. "Didn't you let him go a little easy today?"

"No, not much else I could have done," Take Care turned to look up at him, "Thanks for stopping by." She gave Indy a kiss on the cheek. Indy turned and kissed her back. "I do have to finish organizing the place."

"Alright," Indy let go of Take Care as she returned to work, "Mind if I stick around."

"Not at all, I shouldn't be too much longer," Take Care went back to re-organizing her desk."

Indy went to Take Care's living room to find something to read in the mean time.

OoOoO

"…and that's all that happened in the last month or so," Defender Bear sat with Futureheart Bear in the Great Fox's cafeteria.

Futureheart was still wearing the Star Fox uniform he'd brought back from the future with him and now had his black and silver bladed sword strapped to his back. He folded his arms and nodded, "A lot of that didn't happen the first time around, we didn't even know Illyana existed or that Mental Heart was scouring the globe and killing the Care Bears that hadn't been saved." He stared down at the table in front of him, "we never knew, none of us ever knew why there were so many bears and so few of everyone else in the Care Bear Family… No-Heart took them all from us…" He shook his head, "Can't dwell on it, this is still a huge improvement. Things are changing and I'm going to make sure they keep changing." He stood up, "Alright, Defender, the next big moment is approaching. The U.N. meeting."

"The one in two days?" Defender stood up and followed Futureheart as he headed for the exit.

Futureheart's face was grim, "Yes. That was where things started going downhill. No-Heart will attack the assembly with a monster called a Nanomorph, a monster made out of nanomachines. Several of the delegates will be killed before it's destroyed. The Star Fox Team will be accused of sending it and since we harbored them we'll be cut off from the human governments and our search for No-Heart will be massively delayed, which gives him all the time he needs to strike, and unleash The Prank on us."

"You mentioned The Prank before, what is it," Defender asked as they reached the exit ramp in the hangar bay.

"A much more powerful Nanomorph, one we were never able to destroy," Futureheart stopped, "It killed Anger Heart, Good Luck, Polite, Guidance Heart, Flair Heart, Champ…and Love-a-Lot before the world was destroyed." He clenched his fists, "Not this time, I won't let it happen this time."

Defender had walked past Futureheart and turned to face him as he looked up, "Well then, we need to be ready for the U.N. meeting. I'll be accompanying Tenderheart since Love Heart's taking a vacation. What do we need to know?"

Futureheart resumed his walk, "First thing we need to do is make sure we don't look like we know the attack is coming or the nations will get suspicious, and you'll need to bring backup under the excuse of needing increased security."

"I'll bring Anger Heart, he's recovered since his imprisonment and he should have the power we need to fight it," Defender said.

"Also, the Nanomorph's keystone is a powerful cooling unit created by Professor Cold Heart called the Zhivago Module, to counteract the heat friction built up by all the nanomachines moving around. It can be disabled by a Care Bear Stare but you can't use it right away, make it look like a last ditch effort or it will look suspicious…"

OoOoO

Anger Heart was nervous as he was dressed in what could be described as his uniform: red dress shirt and pants, thankfully not too restrictive. He admitted he envied Defender being able to wear his normal cargo shorts and shirt along with his blue cloak with the red trim.

The guard at the U.N. building eyed them as they approached with Tenderheart Bear and Fox McCloud. "Who are you? Where is General Love Heart?"

Defender didn't flinch as he replied, "General Love Heart is on leave, I am Colonel Defender Bear, Love Heart's second-in-command. I will be filling his place for the foreseeable future. This is Lieutenant Anger Heart Fox; he is accompanying me as additional security because of the threats against our people as of late."

The guard checked the notes he had been given, which had ID pictures of the two on them, "Alright, you're cleared to go."

Anger Heart was just grateful he hadn't been asked to say anything as he and Defender Bear took up positions at the top of the hall, instead of in the waiting room like Love Heart usually did. Tenderheart went to his seat with Fox at his side as they waited for the meeting to start.

Defender Bear kept looking around the room, trying to spot the Nanomorph, at the very least standing at the ready didn't raise any suspicions. Anger Heart was doing the same until Tenderheart was asked to speak.

"Tenderheart Bear, how is the progress on technology trading with Star Fox?"

Tenderheart turned to Fox, who nodded for him to speak. "We've managed to finalize most of the trade, but Star Fox can't provide us with physical trades, they're a mercenary craft and all the equipment they brought with them is needed for their mission. However, we have secured schematics for most of their non-military technology: star and warp engine technology, alloys, food replicators and experimental alloys. We can provide these schematics to all member nations within a week as long as we have time to translate them."

"No military technology?" one member questioned.

"I agree with that, such weaponry would be too dangerous if our history is any indication," another said, "what about medical technology?"

"Actually, our medical and science teams in the Kingdom of Caring have medical technology that surpasses what Lylat has to offer," Tenderheart couldn't help but smile as he heard Fox cough in embarrassment, "According to their team's mechanic, Slippy Toad, the only thing they have that we don't is advanced cybernetic prosthetics but they don't have the schematics for those onboard as they are the property of medical research groups back in their home system."

"Hey, is something wrong?"

Defender's attention was drawn to a pair of other security guards nearby, one of whom was twitching and jittering around. The guard's clothes dissolved as his body was replaced by a shivering grey mass.

"Holy shit!" the other guard drew his sidearm and pointed it at the grey mass, "Hands up! Hold still!"

"Everyone get down!" Defender Bear pulled out his sword a moment too late as the nanomorph skewered the guard. Delegates dove under their desks as shots from other guards rang out. The nanomorph ignored them, the bullets having no effect on it's body.

"Anger Heart help me!" Defender charged at the nanomorph slicing into it with his sword. He cut a deep gash into the monster's side but it just sealed up a moment later.

Anger Heart jumped over the nearest desk to get in front of the nanomorph as it surged forwards to try and attack one of the delegates. "Stay back!" Anger Heart shot a blast of fire at the nanomorph, which dissipated harmlessly off its front. Anger Heart gulped then focused as it surged forwards. A ball of blue fire appeared in his hand as his tail split into eight and he shot the fire forwards. The blue stream enveloped the nanomorph for an instant before Anger Heart cut off the flow. The floor was scorched but the nanomorph hadn't even been stalled. Anger Heart was riveted to the spot, staring at the monster as it advanced. He tried to step away but missed his step and felt backwards down the aisle.

Defender Bear jumped in, lightning jumping from his hand to his sword as he stuck it into the nanomorph. It had the desired effect as the monster stopped in its place, it's component pieces short circuiting for a moment.

Fox looked up from where he had dropped at the fight in progress, "I wish I had my blaster."

"I think I see an opening," Tenderheart stood up right as Phoenix cut a huge piece out of the nanomorph, "Care Bear Stare!"

The bright red beam lanced out from Tenderheart's tummy symbol (or rather the pattern on his suit over his actual symbol) and struck the nanomorph dead on. At first it looked like nothing had happened, then the what sounded like static began to pour out of the nanomorph's body, its movements slowing until it collapsed forwards in what could be best described as a pile of goo.

The air in the room hung still as Defender poked the remains with his sword, only relaxing when it didn't move. "It's dead, whatever it is."

Other guards approached, one pulling out a plastic bag he used to scoop up some of the remains with, "We need to study this." He turned to Tenderheart who had collapsed in his seat, "How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't, I just had to try something." Tenderheart didn't want to lie about this, but he had to keep the rest of the assembly from getting suspicious.

"Then this meeting is adjourned until we get answers about what that… thing is," the secretary general stood up from behind his podium where he had ducked when the machine went on a rampage.

Defender had sheathed his sword behind his cloak then ran over to the security guard the nanomorph had skewered, thankfully he was still alive so it just took some of defender's phoenix magic to bring him around and heal the injury. Once the guard was stable, Defender turned to Anger Heart, who still sat on the floor, forcing his tails back into one through sheer force of will. He looked over to Tenderheart, who nodded, "If the meeting is adjourned, we'd like to take our leave." Once they got the go ahead, the four members of the Care Bear Family were outside and flying back to their home.

OoOoO

"Sorry to pull you away from your family," Defender apologized to Love Heart as they walked in step with each other towards Anger Heart's house.

"It's alright. Just because I'm on leave from missions doesn't mean I won't get involved in serious situations, besides I've been meaning to talk to Anger Heart ever since his rescue." Love Heart had decided to wear his general's uniform for this occasion and he tugged at the collar, which seemed to feel tighter than normal.

Anger Heart was sitting on his couch when the front door opened, seemingly lost in thought until Love Heart cleared his throat. Anger Heart looked up at Love Heart and waited for the green bear clad in his general's uniform to speak.

"Lieutenant Anger Heart Fox, Colonel Defender Bear told me what happened at the U.N. meeting earlier today, how you froze up after barely attempting to fight the nanomorph monster that attacked you. I want an explanation now." Love Heart didn't raise his voice but the edge to it told Anger Heart he was in serious trouble.

"I was scared," Anger Heart said.

"Of that monster? That's not like you. Look at me, Anger Heart." Love Heart tried to keep his voice level as Anger Heart looked him in the eyes.

"No, of my powers, I was afraid I might burn up everyone around me, set the building on fire and bring it down on everyone's heads."

"Is that also why you didn't try to escape from your imprisonment earlier this month?" Love Heart dropped the serious demeanor and walked over to the couch, taking a seat next to the fox.

"It's more than that." Anger Heart stared into his lap as Defender walked closer, "When I was held captive over a decade ago and I thought Guidance died… I lost control." Anger Heart Fox gripped his knees, shaking as he spoke, "I killed everyone in that facility, I vaporized it without a second thought, I still see the scared face of the scientist as I turned them to ash while Doctor Fright ran away but it didn't matter to me, all I cared about at that moment was destroying that evil place!" Anger Heart grabbed the sides of his head, "I've had to live with that for years, and what's been happening since. I went to Life Heart and she said that I'm a nascent kyuubi which means my powers are growing, I can feel them growing every day no matter how much I try to hold them back. It's getting harder and harder to keep my tails hidden and I know I'm going to snap someday and reach that apex, and then I have no idea what I'm going to become. I'm scared that I'm going to burn up everyone and everything I care about and I can't let myself slip even for a minute or I could end everything even before No-Heart does!"

Anger Heart sat there, shaking, as Love Heart and Defender shared a look for a moment before Love Heart stood up. "Lieutenant Anger Heart Fox, in light of these revelations I'm putting you on leave until further notice. You will not participate in any combat missions until I say so but you may continue to train with us and join us for meetings."

Anger Heart looked up at Love Heart, speechless.

Love Heart sighed, "I'm sorry, but you clearly need time to sort this out and I can't have you freezing up or hesitating in a critical situation. Take time off to spend with your family, sort this out and decide what you're going to do with it. Have a good day."

"Thank you, Love Heart," Anger Heart said. Neither Love Heart nor Defender turned to say anything.

"Think that was a bit much?" Love Heart asked once they were certain they were out of earshot from the door.

Defender shook his head, "No. He needs this time, even if it takes him longer than this war to sort it out."

Love Heart smiled, "Thanks," he undid the top of his uniform, "I need to get out of this uniform."

Back at the house, Guidance and Flair emerged from behind the doorframe where they had been listening. Flair walked up to his father, "Dad, are you going to be alright?"

Anger Heart reached down and lifted his son up onto his lap, "I don't know, but I'm going to be spending more time at home now."

"Anger Heart, you didn't have to keep this a secret," Guidance sat down next to him, "You can always talk to us."

Anger Heart smiled, "Thank you." They leaned together and kissed. "I think I'll get supper started." Flair got off his lap as Anger Heart headed for the kitchen.


	17. Information Retrieval

A/N: This story references TakeCareBear's story "Visions of the Past" and while I will describe the events here, reading her version will be more complete.

Chapter 17: Information Retrieval

"A complete failure, that's what it was!" Doctor Fright pointed accusingly at Quenos, "They figured out its weakness and destroyed your nanomorph before it could kill anyone except the guard it replaced!"

"It was not a failure." Mental Heart's telekinetic powers forced the vampire looking monster away from Quenos.

"Exactly." Quenos waved Doctor Fright off, "This was just a test to see if the technology worked as expected. Tests like this are more important that a 100% success. One of the problem I find with the rest of you is that you stop after one failure instead of refining your failures into something greater."

"And it proves my suspicion. That brown bear from Star Fox is from the future, he must have told them how to destroy the nanomorph before they could learn anything about it on their own." Mental Heart turned around to face the others, "For now we shall continue to operate as normal, don't let them know that we know their secret."

"Very well," No-Heart said, "Now as for you, Illyana. Bring some of your mercenaries here. I need to see just how valuable their aid will be. Mental Heart will escort you and them back here."

Illyana snorted, "Alright, but this had better not disrupt my other operations."

"Your operations are for us now," Mental Heart had appeared in front of her and stared her down. Cold as she was, even Illyana couldn't avoid shivering at the man's cold stare before he wrapped them in a psionic bubble and they flew off."

OoOoO

Anger Heart was just putting lunch on the table when he heard the knock on his front door. "Seriously? Now of all times?!" Anger Heart growled, leaving Guidance and Flair to eat the potato soup he had made.

Anger Heart opened the front door and glared at Futureheart, "What do you want, future Tenderheart?"

Futureheart cleared his throat, "I wanted to talk to you about what I heard from Love Heart, about you being on leave."

Anger Heart sighed, "He decided I needed some time off so I'm trying to enjoy that right now."

"You need to stop holding back." Futureheart was blunt in his pronouncement.

Anger Heart was startled, "What?"

"You said your power is growing, you need to let it grow. It could be the key to winning this war," Futureheart stepped forwards.

Fear crept into Anger Heart's face and he shook his head rapidly, "No! I can't let myself lose control! I'll just end up killing everyone!"

"What if you can use it to save everyone?" Futureheart stepped forwards and grabbed Anger Heart's arms, "We can't afford to give up any advantage we have! Let it happen!"

*SPLASH!*

Futureheart found himself soaked by a deluge of water that dumped on him from overhead and looked over to the doorway to the kitchen where a furious Guidance Heart stood. "Let go of my husband now!"

"But-" Futureheart couldn't get another word out before Guidance Heart held up a hand and created a bright light that shone directly into Futureheart's eyes, which forced him to let go of Anger Heart so he could block the light from his eyes.

"Anger Heart has been through enough shit lately without you telling him to blow up!" Guidance Heart advanced on Futureheart, who backed up out of the front door away from her, "He's here to rest with his family not to be bullied by someone from the future who thinks they know better. Now let us eat our lunch in peace!" Guidance slammed the door, shutting Futureheart out.

The brown bear blinked, unable to think of anything to say, then turned and walked away from their house.

Anger Heart had calmed down and watched in amazement as Guidance took several deep breaths. "Thank you, that was… amazing."

"Wow mom, I think you were angrier than dad's ever been." Flair stared at his parents, mouth hanging open.

Guidance Heart smiled sheepishly, "Well I don't think I could ever be as mad as your father has been, but I couldn't just stand there and let him take that," she turned to Anger Heart, "Are you alright?"

Anger Heart smiled and gave Guidance a kiss, "I am now, thank you Guidance. Now let's eat before the soup gets cold."

Guidance giggled and nodded, then kissed him back before they went back to lunch.

OoOoO

"Hurry up Shimmers, we're going to be late." Love Heart stood facing the downstairs bathroom door.

"Almost done!" Shimmers carefully tied the sides of his diaper up and washed his hands before he stepped out. "Three days!" He said proudly.

"Four more dry days and you can stop wearing that diaper," Love Heart took his son's hand, "Now let's get going."

Confidence Heart and Mira were waiting outside the front door and the four of them walked together towards the Care-a-Lot gym, Shimmers all but skipping along beside his parents.

They finally stopped right near the tummy symbol training range where many of the Magi were waiting.

Love Heart's demeanor changed as he walked among the others, letting go of Shimmering Star's hand. "Alright, all enlisted line up."

Shimmers was about to follow Love Heart when Mira grabbed his hand, "That's us. Just wait and stand in line here while dad talks." She took Shimmers to stand in a line with Flair Heart Raccoon, Wild Heart Unicorn, Meek Heart Unicorn, Aqua Bear, Lonesomeheart Bear, Redemptionheart Bear and Melancholy Bear.

Love Heart stood in the center of a line with Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn on his left and Confidence Heart Fennec and Guidance Heart Raccoon on his left. "Alright everyone, welcome to Care Bear Magi Training. Most of you haven't attended this training session yet so I'll go over the basics," he turned to his son and the new arrivals from the last few weeks, "We use a system of ranks with all active members being assigned an officer grade while those in training have enlisted ranks. Shimmering Star, Lonesome Heart, Redemption Heart, Aqua and Melancholy, you will start at the rank of Private and will advance to Corporal once I'm certain you have a grasp on the basics of combat and magic. I know some of you," he looked at Aqua, "already know more than most of your fellow trainees but you will need to be evaluated and graded before I feel safe advancing you to the rank of Corporal at which point you will pick out both your magic and combat styles. You will start learning advanced techniques once I promote you to the rank of Sergeant and when I think you're responsible enough to fight in self-defence and develop more personal fighting styles you will advance to the rank of Warrant Officer. When you graduate from training I will grant you the rank of Lieutenant. Note that unless you are at the rank of Warrant Officer, like Miracle Heart, Flair Heart and Meek Heart, you are not to engage in battle with enemies or practise potentially dangerous magic without supervision." As he spoke, Wild Heart Unicorn visibly winced. "For now, Privates, you will train with Lieutenant Guidance Heart Raccoon who will evaluate your magical abilities and for those of you who haven't even begun to learn magic she will teach you the basics of conjuring mana. Sergeant Wild Heart, you will be training with Lieutenant Life Heart to work on your spell control."

"Yes sir," Wild Heart had to force herself to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she went over to her father and the five privates followed Guidance away to where she trained the beginners.

"Now then, Warrant officers." As Love Heart spoke, Mira, Flair and Meek stood to attention. "Warrant Officer Meek Heart, you're working with Captain Confidence Heart today, you need to shore up your close range combat so you aren't helpless against someone who gets too close to you in a fight. Warrant Officer Flair Heart I want you to work on your kinetics with Captain Sage Heart, you can't rely on close combat all the time." Love Heart watched Sage Heart and Confidence Heart lead their trainees away.

"Warrant Officer Miracle Heart, you're working with me; you said you had something you wanted to work on?" Love Heart looked down at his daughter.

Miracle Heart nodded, "Yes, General, I want to learn some of your kinetic techniques."

Love Heart folded his arms, "You don't have to stand on ceremony now that the speech is over. I can teach you a few of my techniques but you should develop your own combat style and abilities."

"I just want to learn one," Mira held up her right index finger, "That thing everyone says you used to paralyze No-Heart and Dusk Heart."

Love Heart smiled, "Ah, the electric paralyzer orb. Alright I'll show you that one, as long as you promise to try and do something different with it."

"I promise," Mira wagged her four tails. "Let's get started!"

Guidance Heart led the newcomers a fair distance away from the other trainees before she asked them to sit down. "Alright, today I'm going to be evaluating how far each of you are along with learning magic and teaching you the basics of magic if you don't know it. First, Aqua, Lonesome, Redemption, I want you three to show me what you're already capable of."

"OK!" Aqua enthusiastically held up his hands and a moment later water and ice were dancing effortlessly in his palms.

Guidance smiled, "Very impressive. I'll need to do some evaluation, and speak to the Love Heart, but I believe you can be promoted to Corporal by the end of the week." She turned to watch Lonesome and Redemption. Lonesome had a small mist of darkness hovering in her hands while Redemption was visibly struggling to lift a small piece of cloud up.

"So water, darkness and aether," Guidance pulled out her heartphone and made the notes next to their names.

Redemption stopped trying with her magic and slumped, "May I go home now? Take Care gave me a bunch of homework I need to do if I want to be a doctor."

Guidance nodded, "Very well, but practise conjuring your element if you have time, levitating pencils and pens towards and away from you would be fine when you are off duty." As Redemption turned to leave, Guidance returned to the mates standing in front of her, "As for you two, practise conjuring your elements as much as you can until you feel tired," she glanced down at Lonesome baby bump, "Don't hurt yourself though."

Lonesome snorted, "I'll be fine!" She held up her hands as more wisps of darkness appeared.

Guidance let Lonesome's attitude pass as she turned to Melancholy and Shimmering Star. "Alright, now that I've evaluated the others, it's time to begin your training. The first thing I need to teach you is how to conjure mana." Guidance held up a hand as a shimmering cloud of energy appeared in her palm, "Reach deep down inside yourself and try to find that spark of magic within you, then grab hold of it and pull it into the real world."

"Like this!" Shimmers held up his hands, a small cloud of mana already forming.

"It's that easy? Let me try," Melancholy held up her hands and focused. She grunted a few times but nothing happened, "I can't do it?"

"It usually takes a long time to do that," Guidance said, "It took me weeks to get it right."

"Same here!" Lonesome piped up, "Aqua got it almost as fast as Shimmering Star."

"It's just different levels of talent, but Shimmers still got it faster than I thought was possible," Guidance said. "Just take your time, Melancholy, you'll get it."

Melancholy wiped away some tears forming in her eyes and sniffed, "OK, I'll try."

OoOoO

Redemption Heart lived in Love-a-Lot Bear's former house while Aqua and Lonesome lived nearby in Cheer's old house. It helped that she was near her friends but most of her time at home was devoted to studying and homework. It reminded her of her days growing up with Audrianna except the work Take Care and Get Well gave her was much harder and more extensive and she was expected to do most of it on her own, since Take Care was busy training Get Well at the hospital.

Redemption was struggling with one of the problems on her current assigned and reached into her tummy symbol to grab a calculator she thought she had stored there, instead her hands grasped something else. She withdrew the items: two paintbrushes and two long eagle feathers. The tickle torture implements that had been her greatest source of joy on the island.

Now she stared at the objects in her hands, fear and hatred coursing through her. She couldn't forget what had been done to her for over a week, tickle tortured by Illyana's sadistic robot, which did the same thing to her and Anger Heart that she used to inflict on those she called her friends. Her desire to return for these implements of torture had gotten them captured in the first place, if she had just left them lie there…

She gripped the feathers and brushes in both hands, shaking as she moved to tear them apart, then stopped. No matter how much it pained her to look at the cause of her second imprisonment she couldn't bring herself to destroy them. She looked around her room and spotted an empty shoe box, probably left behind by Love-a-Lot when she moved out.

Abandoning her studies for the moment, Redemptionheart grabbed the shoebox and ran out to her backyard. She used her paws to gouge a small holed in the earth, threw the paintbrushes and feathers into the box then shoved it in the hole and covered it with dirt, packing it tight.

Redemption just stared at the patch of dirt where she had buried her favorite tools. She was shivering even though the weather wasn't that cold. She couldn't tell anyone about this, what would they say? Especially after what she and Anger Heart had been through. She carefully got her feet and walked back into her house. No more studying for today, she just needed to relax, somehow…

OoOoO

Everyone had gathered in the Hall of Hearts for the meeting that day, even the Star Fox Team, called by Brave Heart about something important he had to tell everyone. The only one not present was Jolly Heart Platypus, though a very much not pregnant Cozy Heart Penguin was there.

"Cozy, where's Jolly, and your baby bump?" Playful Heart asked as they took a seat.

Cozy Heart smiled, "I laid my eggsss two daysss ago. Jolly sssaid he didn't want to sssit in on thisss meeting ssso I sssaid he could ssstay home to keep them warm while I went." She patted her flat midriff, "It doesss feel niccce to not have all that weight on my belly. Jussst sssix more weeksss until they hatch."

"Alright everyone, settle down." Brave Heart's voice boomed out over the assembly. "I have something very important to tell everyone." Everyone quieted down and Brave Heart continued. "Earlier today I was contacted by someone from the FBI. They asked to come and meet us and discuss something away from the rest of their peers. Before you ask, I already invited them here and he said he'd be here within an hour about an hour ago."

Peppy Hare stood up, "Wait, I thought you said only people who knew how to get into the Kingdom of Caring were able. How can they even get here?"

"Because I've been here before." Everyone turned to the entrance to face the tall blonde haired man who had entered, wearing a black suit, sunglasses and an earpiece, looking very much like one would expect a member of any of the United States' security services.

"That voice," Noble Heart turned to True Heart, who nodded back and the two were up and heading for the door, True Heart waddling a bit, hand on her baby bump.

The FBI agent smiled down at True Heart as she approached, "Hello, True Heart, it's been a long time." He removed his shades revealing the blue eyes behind them.

"John!" True Heart smiled.

"John!?" almost every member of the Care Bear Family shouted.

"One and the same," John chuckled, "I've come a long way from babysitting, and you've come along way too, except," he squinted at the founders in front of him, "I swear you two look younger than the last time we met."

True Heart had let her hair grow out even farther, now down to the middle of her back and naturally curly. Noble Heart was much the same with his mane nearly the same length. They leaned up against each other and smiled.

"Care Bear aging is complicated," True Heart rubbed her belly, "And we have two new ones on the way."

"Congratulations," John looked around the room, "I'd love to catch up but I am here on business." He cleared his throat as his demeanor turned serious and walked around to the head of the table where Love Heart, Brave Heart and Tenderheart were seated. "For the last few years the FBI has been investigating the business known as 'Quentin Industries'. We've suspected for a time that their CEO, Clifford Quentin, is involved in criminal activity. This was our first real lead." John produced a photograph from his pocket and handed it to Brave Heart.

Brave Heart and Tenderheart checked the image and gawked at the teenaged girl standing with the older man, "Is that Shrieky?"

"Director Paul and I have kept up with your adventures over the years," John smirked, "That man is Clifford Quentin, one of the only pictures we have of him, and we recognize that girl as Shrieky; we believe she is his daughter."

Everyone instantly put two-and-two together but it was Tenderheart who spoke, "So Quentin is No-Heart's brother?"

John nodded, "More than that, for the last few weeks Quentin's counter-moves against our intelligence have become sloppier and we've managed to piece together enough information for a raid on his headquarters. More importantly we have conclusive evidence that links Quentin to a number of underworld contacts and that among them he goes by another name: Control."

Love Heart had his arms folded, "This is all very revealing, John, by why are you here?"

"I was getting to that, General," John turned to Love Heart, "We're preparing to conduct a raid on his headquarters and we'd like your help. While magic is more commonly accepted as existing, especially in my line of work, we don't have enough knowledge of it to defend against it, not to mention we would like the Star Fox Team's assistance with this." He turned to the Lylatian mercenaries seated nearby, "We don't believe our currency is of any value to you, but if Andross is in league with No-Heart then any information we find at Quentin industries could lead to his location."

Fox nodded, "Alright, Slippy I want you and Ursus Futur to go with them and help them crack any security that place might have."

"You got it, Fox," Slippy nodded.

"I'll go too," Bright Heart volunteered.

"Since you want Care Bears there, I'll go," Confidence Heart said, "you never know what'll you'll find there."

Love Heart nodded then turned to Defender Bear, who spoke up, "I'm sending Truth Bear and Guidance Heart Raccoon with you."

Confidence sighed, "Alright, guess you're in charge, Truth."

Truth bear smirked, "John's in charge of this one."

"Good, I'll have to inform the director about this." John nodded.

"Wait, you said his name was Paul. Is he the same Paul we helped years ago against Cold Heart?" Noble Heart asked John.

John smiled as he replaced his shades over his eyes, "He is. He's the reason I've been able to keep tabs on Quentin as much as we have and why he sent me here."

"I think we need to do more than that." The voice came from Defender Bear, who stood up to address everyone. "If Control is working with No-Heart and Andross he's also probably working with Cold Heart, we haven't heard anything out of him in years and if they're planning something we have to assume he's working with them."

"And if Control is who you say he is then he'll probably find out when we raid his headquarters." Love Heart folded his arms. "If we're going to raid one of their old homes we should send out teams to both No-Heart and Cold Heart's castles and see if we can dig up anything else they might be working on."

"In that case, I volunteer to go to No-Heart's castle," Life Heart stood up.

"I'll go too," Defender said, "No-Heart's castle is dangerous even if he's not there anymore."

"Count me in," Contrary Heart Liger stood up, "Hope, you coming too?"

Hopeful Heart Liger nodded, "I've been there before."

"Will you be OK, mom?" Marina Bear looked up at Connie.

"Relax," Connie ruffled her daughter's headfur, "Aunt Hopie and I have been there a lot, we'll be fine."

"I'm still not taking any risks, Falco and Fara are going with you," Fox said.

"Then I'm coming with you," Tenderheart spoke up, "I've been there more times than any of you."

"That just leaves Cold Heart's castle," Defender said. "If Bright Heart is going to Quentin Industries then we need someone who's decent with computers to try and pull information out of his systems."

Take Care Bear suddenly felt several pairs of eyes on her as Bright Heart spoke up, "Take Care's almost as good with computers as I am, at least she's the best qualified here to try any sort of data retrieval."

"It would be like sifting through all my medical files," Take Care admitted. Truthfully she didn't want to go, even though Cold Heart presented about as much threat as a yapping Pomeranian on his best days, missions always made her nervous.

Indy could see Take Care's nerves and spoke up, "I'll go with her."

Take Care turned to Indy, who also turned to face her. He smiled and took her hand, "Just relax, I'll be there."

Everyone stared at the two of them. Even with her baby belly, Love-a-Lot stood up and pointed at the pair, "What?! When did you two become a couple?!"

Indy and Take Care suddenly realized they had been outed. Take Care at least managed to shoot back, "Ever since the welcome party, but what we're up to is our business, Love-a-Lot."

"Enough!" Tenderheart gently pulled his wife back into her seat, "We have more important things to talk about than Independent and Take Care being a couple. Any other volunteers to go to Cold Heart's castle with them?"

"I'll go!" Sweet Heart jumped up, waving her hand.

"Then I'll come too, along with Peppy just in case," Fox said.

"If his name is any indication we should dress warm," Peppy added.

"I'll go too," Cozy Heart raised her flipper, "I've been sssitting at home too long, and it'sss right up my alley."

"You'll probably need my help there, in case his stuff's broken," Grumpy folded his arms.

"I'm coming too," Brave Heart stood up, "no telling what king of things Cold Heart left back in his castle."

"Alright it's settled." John said. "The raid will take place in two days. Get any equipment you need and meet us here." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Tenderheart. "It was good to see you all again, wish it wasn't in such a serious situation." With that John turned and left. Indy and Take Care departed quickly, neither eager to be bombarded with questions about their relationship.

As everyone began to disperse, Shimmering Star Bear left his father's side and ran towards the entrance. "Wish Bear!" he called out, causing Wish to turn around as he caught up to them. Shimmering Star grinned up at the teal colored bear, "Hi Wish! I wanted to meet you."

Wish smiled down at him, "Well it's nice to finally meet you, Shimmers. I've heard a lot about you."

"Hi, Shimmers, I'm Hope Bear," Wish and Defender's daughter stepped around her mom.

"Wait… I thought Hope was the lion-tiger," Shimmers pointed to Hopeful Heart Liger as she left with her husband Darien Lion and their son Stealth Heart Liger.

Wish Bear chuckled and blushed slightly, "That was awkward but Defender and I had our hearts set on Hope, and her name is Hopeful Heart Liger our daughter is just Hope Bear."

"Oh… OK?" Shimmers looked confused for a moment then looked back up at Wish, "Is it true you can grant any wish?"

"Not every wish," Wish had heard this from many children she helped over the years, "My wishes work better when things are desperate but I can grant little wishes to people that help them along the way. I can't give out too much wish magic at once or I could get hurt."

Shimmers wasn't quite she what she meant but nodded, "If I think of a big wish I need, can you help me?"

"I can try. Just come to me and I'll see if I can grant your wish," she gave Shimmers a kiss on the forehead.

"I'll help too, don't worry," Defender Bear added.

Shimmers blushed, "Thank you, gotta go!" Shimmers turned and ran to catch up with his family as they left the Hall of Hearts.

Tenderheart caught up to Futureheart as he was heading back to the Great Fox. "Futureheart, wait. How did we beat the nanomorph last time? I mean you were there because I was so you had to have seen it."

Futureheart stopped, "I remember. Love Heart was there but he only came running after he heard the screams from the delegates. Half of them were dead before he got his chance but he eventually destroyed it by overloading its AI with multiple plasma blasts. We studied the remains as best we could to find its weakness but it didn't do any good. I'll brief you all on The Prank after this mission."

OoOoO

The following day, Bright Heart and Gentle Heart stopped by Take Care's for a check-up and ultrasound. It was earlier than they had planed and Take Care knew they were looking for an excuse to visit after the revelation from the previous day, but if there was anyone other than her daughters she was willing to talk to about Indy it would be them, and Noble Heart.

Take Care showed the black and white picture on the ultrasounds screen, "Looks like a boy, and a sheep, or ram in this case." She turned to Gentle Heart, who still shivered at the touch of the gel on her fur.

"He looks beautiful, Take Care. Thank you." Gentle Heart smiled.

"I think we're done your check then," Take Care shut the machine off and wiped the gel off Gentle Heart's belly. "Now is there anything else."

"Actually yes," Bright Heart reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out what looked like a portable external hard drive. "I don't know if Cold Heart has updated his input plugs so this has a few different plug-ins to access his computer." He pulled out a set of cables that had numerous different plugs on the ends. "It's a hacking program I created, it should get past most of his security, if he has any, and there's four terabytes of storage for anything you want to copy off his systems."

"Oh, thank you," Take Care wasn't surprised Bright Heart had thought this far ahead, frankly she had been wondering what she would do if she found herself unable to guess a password or straight up locked out of any systems, not to mention how much data she might have to copy.

Gentle Heart cleared her throat as they exited the exam room, "We did want to ask, how did you and Indy become a couple?"

"I'd like to know too." The voice came from Noble Heart, who had just entered the waiting room as Gentle Heart asked the question.

Take Care rolled her eyes, she had been expecting this, "Trying to evaluate my boyfriend dad?" she half-joked.

Noble Heart chuckled, "Not at all, I don't know him as well as you do but I know Indy's responsible enough. Honestly I thought the two of you were asexual so I never thought either of you would end up with anyone."

Take Care sighed and sat down at her desk, swiveling to face them, "You're right about that. I honestly never had any physical attraction to him and he never did either, it's just. Well for years he was my best friend, sorry," she apologized to Bright Heart and Gentle.

"I get it, you're our big sister so it was always… odd," Gentle Heart admitted.

"We still think of you as an authority figure in our lives," Bright Heart added.

Take Care nodded, "We like to read, we can have short conversations without it being awkward, but I think the real thing is that while Get Well was gone and Cautious Heart was asserting her independence, Indy would come and visit me every day. I just got used to having him around and…" she paused, "I think things changed when he looked after me that time I got hypothermia a couple years ago. I didn't realize it at first but that's when I started to look forwards to his daily visit instead of just expecting them to happen. He told me he loved me a couple weeks ago and it was a shock to my system so I said I didn't know if I felt the same way. We had some time apart to think about things, then he invited me over for dinner the night of the welcome party and that's when I knew, I loved him too." Take Care's expression had slowly turned to into a soft smile as she spoke.

"Aww," Gentle Heart sighed happily.

"It makes sense why it took so long," Bright Heart said, "If there was no physical attraction there was no immediate drive to be together as a couple, and why Love-a-Lot never figured it out."

"Right," Take Care shook her head rapidly to clear it.

"I'm happy for you two, Take Care." Noble Heart walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "As long as you two are happy. But I think we'll get out of your hair now."

"Thank you, Take Care," Gentle Heart rested her hands on her pregnant belly as she and Bright Heart left, followed by Noble Heart.

Take Care just watched them go for a moment then set the hard drive Bright Heart had given her on her desk and got up.

"Hey mom, what was that about?" Get Well entered the waiting room from the house.

"Just a check-up and visit from family." Take Care headed for the house, "Watch the hospital, please, I need some air." She passed by Get Well and out the door into the back yard.

Take Care's house and hospital sat right alongside where the Rainbow River exited the Forest of Feelings. Take Care could sit on the bank of the Rainbow River barely stepping outside of her backyard. When she wanted to just relax and think without going into the Forest of Feelings she just sat on the back and watched the Rainbow River flowing by.

Splashing noises drew Take Care's attention as she saw Cozy Heart Penguin swimming up the river; the current was never strong enough to pose any challenge for her. Cozy Heart swam past Take Care's yard then lay on her back and floated slowly down the river towards the forest. She looked over at Take Care and waved a flipper at her. "Hello Take Care."

Take Care smiled, "Hi Cozy. Enjoying yourself?"

Cozy Heart reoriented herself so she was upright, "Yesss, I feel ssso much better without the egg weight."

"Is Jolly Heart doing all the sitting now?" Take Care asked.

"He insssisssted." Cozy paddled closer, "He sssaid it wasssn't fair that I had to carry them for sssix weeksss while he couldn't do anything. I'll take my turnsss after the misssssion tomorrow." There was silence for a moment before Cozy spoke again, "So where isss Indy?"

"Probably at home getting ready for tomorrow," Take Care looked into the forest in the direction she knew Indy's house lay, "He takes his Magi duties as seriously as I take my doctor duties."

"Are you ssscared?" Cozy asked.

"Of the mission?" Take Care looked back down at Cozy, "A little…I've never been to Cold Heart's castle and I'm not looking forwards to bundling up to go there."

Cozy giggled, "I don't have that problem. I love the cold."

Take Care smiled and rolled her eyes, "I remember you always were the first outside in winter, and never needed a coat or hat. You were faster than Swift Heart sliding around when you were cubs."

"Only becaussse sssnow and iccce are hard to run on," Cozy said. "But I'll sssee you tomorrow." Cozy dove back under the water and began swimming back into the Forest of Feelings. Take Care watched her go then turned back to the Rainbow River to watch it go by.

OoOoO

Love Heart stood in front of the assembled teams in front of the Hall of Hearts with Shimmers and Mira at his side. "Check your equipment one last time before you head out." He turned to the team made up of Slippy Toad, Ursus Futur (Futureheart Bear), Confidence Heart Fennec, Truth Bear, Guidance Heart Raccoon and Bright Heart Raccoon, "Infiltration Team, you will rendezvous with John's squad and follow his directions, assist in any way possible to bring back the information stored in Quentin's network."

Love Heart turned to the second team: Take Care Bear, Independent Bear, Sweet Heart Pegasus, Peppy Hare, Fox Phoenix-McCloud, Cozy Heart Penguin, Grumpy Bear and Brave Heart Lion. "Arctic Team, you will proceed to Cold Heart's castle and immediately send a signal back to us when you arrive. Try to retrieve whatever information you can from Cold Heart's computers."

Then Love Heart turned to the final team: Life Heart Unicorn, Defender Bear, Contrary Heart Liger, Hopeful Heart Liger, Tenderheart Bear, Falco Lombardi and Fara Phoenix-McCloud, "Darkness team, you will remain in the Hall of Hearts until the signal is given and use the Rainbow Rescue Beam to teleport to No-Heart's doorstep then proceed to invade his castle and find any magic or other information you can get from his work, anything at all that might prove crucial."

Love Heart turned around for a moment then turned back, "Be careful, everyone, I don't want anyone to get seriously hurt or die today. If you think you can't handle it then pull out, I value your lives over any information we might retrieve."

OoOoO

John and two members of his team were waiting some distance away from the main building of Quentin Industries down an alley with a van hidden from street view. They all jumped when they heard the humming sound from overhead as the Rainbow Rescue Beam materialized the team of Care Bears and Lylatians in front of them.

John held up his hands a one of his team was about to draw a firearm, "Hold on, this is our backup." Truth Bear and Bright Heart were at the front of the group as they finished rematerializing, "I wish we could get that kind of technology down here."

Bright Heart shook his head, "Sorry, but it's powered by Caring Crystals and we haven't found a way to get normal electricity to power this, at least in a sustainable way. Maybe we'll have something when Slippy and I have more time to collaborate, assuming global transportation companies don't get everything tied up in red tape for a decade…"

"We can talk about this later," Truth Bear looked at the van, "Is everyone ready?"

John nodded, "Five FBI agents, including myself, and half a dozen riot police special requested from the local area. It'll be a bit cramped in there but we're ready to move out as soon as we get the signal from your other team." He stepped the back door of the van and gave a short knock. A moment later it opened and they saw the police and agents sitting cramped in the back on two benches.

"At least we're smaller, less cramped for us," Confidence got in the back, followed by Guidance, Bright Heart, Slippy, and Truth with Futureheart needing to stand, the large sword strapped to his back making it impossible for him to sit down with the others. The last two FBI agents and John crowded in before John gave the signal to the driver, who was dressed in plain clothes, and the van started to move.

OoOoO

"Why do we have to take these white puff-balls down to Earth?" Fox tapped the squishy side of one of the Cloud Cars.

Brave Heart was got into the seat of a different car, "Because we need the Shadow Team ready to beam down at a moments notice and it was hard enough for us to get you permission to bring your side-arms down to Earth. Getting everyone to agree to let you bring your advanced Starfighters down would have been a nightmare and taken weeks, and we don't have weeks." He looked at the others, "Three cars, I'll drive Take Care, Cozy will drive Independent Bear and Sweet Heart and Grumpy will drive Fox and Peppy, let's go."

Take Care shot an odd glance at Brave Heart but didn't object as she got in the passenger's seat. She figured she knew what he was up to but they'd talk about that on the ride down.

Once they were in the air and their conversation wouldn't be overheard, Take Care asked, "Are you going to ask me about Indy too?"

Brave Heart smirked, "Never could get anything past you. Yeah I wanna hear about it."

Take Care sighed, "I'm surprised I didn't have everyone beating down my door yesterday to get details."

"Believe me they wanted to, but I told all of them not to bother you," Brave Heart chuckled.

Take Care smiled, "Thank you, I did not need that kind of swarm yesterday. So what do you want to know?"

"Mostly how serious are you two?" Brave Heart kept his eyes forwards.

"Fairly serious, I mean we haven't made long term plans or anything but we've been…together for about ten years." Take Care smiled, "It's just that how we feel has changed recently."

"I'm happy for you, Take Care and I don't think I've seen you this happy since Get Well graduated." Brave Heart gave her a brief sideways glance then looked forwards again, "I know you'll be fine but I can't help but want to look out for you, since you've looked out for me so much before."

Take Care leaned up against the door, "I appreciate that, thank you."

The flight continued in silence until the air started to cool off. Indy shouted out, "Alright, we're going to land a short distance away from the target and get changed. There's cold weather gear in the trunks of each cloud car."

The cold weather gear was really just thick down hooded coats, pants and gloves with heavy snow boots, goggles and scarves plus belts to hold external equipment. Sweet Heart grimaced slightly as she pulled her own on, "Ugg, I hate when my wings are bound."

"Better than frostbite," Grumpy said as he zipped up the front.

Cozy snickered, "But he alwaysss wearsss warm clothing."

"What?" Fox gave the penguin a confused look.

"Frostbite is short fat dimwit that serves Cold Heart," Brave Heart tied off his scarf and put the goggles on, "We'll explain more once we land. Just don't freeze."

Cozy Heart was the only one still not dressed, in fact she was still seated in her car's driver's seat, "I never freezzze."

"Yes we're all impressed, Cozy," Grumpy said, muffled through his scarf, "We never had to wear this stuff before."

"And you nearly got actual frostbite every other time you came here," Take Care said.

"Alright, let's go!" Brave Heart hopped into the car and they took off again. The rest of the flight passed in silence as they approached Cold Heart's castle.

Brave Heart was the first to land and pulled out his heartphone, which he had stashed in one of his coat pockets, "Love Heart, we've arrived at Cold Heart's castle."

Back in the control room, Love Heart's gaze hardened, "Right, sending the Darkness team now." His raised voice was the signal for the team on the Rainbow Rescue Beam pad to teleport down to No-Heart's castle.

At the same time, down on Earth, the FBI van had pulled up in front of Quentin Industries as the back opened. Minor sighs of relief were drowned out as the team of humans, Care Bears and Lylatians stormed into the entrance of the building with John at the lead of the group. The two security guards and the woman at the reception desk were all stunned as John stepped up to the desk, holding up his badge.

"John Parker, FBI, I have a warrant to search this building." John produced the paper from his pocket and handed it to the receptionist to look over.

Before she could finish, one of the security guards stepped forwards, "Mr. Quentin is currently out on business. Leave the premises at once."

Futureheart was keeping his mind open and caught a stray thought from the receptionist. "She's calling security!"

Confidence Heart jumped forwards, a burst of air propelling her over the desk too late to stop the receptionist from pressing the silent alarm under her desk. Confidence had her in a headlock as one of the security guards pulled his sidearm from under his shirt, only to be shot by one of John's FBI cohorts and fall to the ground clutching his leg. John pulled out a taser and shot the other guard as he was reaching for his own weapons.

"Shit! I was hoping to do this without a fight." He shook his head as the guard he had tased went limp then turned to the riot police, pointing to two of them. "Secure this entrance and tie these two up then radio for any reinforcements, we may need SWAT here. Don't let anyone in or out."

"Yes sir," the two police moved to zip tie the two guards, Confidence managing to force the receptionist unconscious.

"Now what?" Slippy asked.

"We take the stairs up as high as we can go," John pulled out his handgun, checking to make sure it was loaded then releasing the safety, "If we take an elevator they can just trap us between floors at their leisure. Find the security office so we can blind them to our movements and the elevator controls so we can use them to travel wherever we want." He pointed to a door off to the side of the elevators, "Up the stairs."

While the two riot police secured the staff and floor, everyone piled towards the fire exits. Bright Heart gulped visibly which caught Futureheart's attention. "Scared?"

Bright Heart nodded, "I just saw someone shot and he was going to shoot Confidence. I've never been in a life-or-death situation like this before. Are people going to die?"

"I can't promise anything," John stopped at the door and waited while everyone did last minute weapons checks. Once he was certain everyone was ready he pulled the stairway door open.

The stairwell was larger than they expected, completely square with narrows stairwells allowing a large open center going up. Almost as soon as the door opened, shots rang out from above which forced John back into the lobby, "Damnit! They've got us pinned down here."

"Leave this to me," Confidence Heart cracked her knuckles as her tummy symbol glowed and metal arm and leg guards appeared on her in a flash of light. "This is why you brought us along, right?" she winked.

John nodded, "Just be careful."

Confidence Heart pulled the door open then charged in. Gunfire from overhead prompted her to fly up with her arms over her head, moving swiftly to block each bullet as it flew at her. She popped up over the 3rd floor landing where the security guards were firing. They were stunned by the flying fennec as she landed a flying kick to one of their chests, punching his handgun so hard it split in half. She rounded on the other one just in time for him to shoot her, only for her arm to fly up and deflect the bullets. Confidence ducked then jumped up and kicked out at the guard's neck, her armored shin passing through his neck seemingly without effect only for him to slump over unconscious. The guard who had been kicked tried to get up only for Confidence to do the same to him.

"It's clear up to the third floor!" She yelled down as she stood over the unconscious guards.

John was in the lead as they came up the stairs. "Did you kill them?" he asked Confidence.

Confidence looked down at the guards then held up her arm to show off the arm guard, one bullet still embedded in it, "No. The weapons we Magi create can't kill anyone unless we want them to, otherwise it causes temporary pain, paralyses limbs and even knocks them unconscious."

"Right, don't expect everything to be bloodless," John signaled to one of his men, "Cuff them and drag them back down to the lobby, everyone else split into two teams and search the second and third floors for any sort of security office or control room."

OoOoO

"So who are we expecting to find here?" Fara pulled out her sidearm and checked the charge.

Tenderheart looked up at the huge double doors that served as the entrance to No-Heart's castle, "Probably just Shrieky and Beastly. They're not a huge danger but be careful."

Defender walked up alongside Tenderheart, "There might be his shadows too, but we haven't seen them in years. Let's get going." Both bears pushed on the double doors and led their team in.

Falco drew his own sidearm as he and Fara walked to the sides of the group with Connie and Hope at the middle, Tenderheart and Defender in the lead and Life Heart right behind the liger twins.

"It's too quiet in here, I don't like it," Falco was tense.

Fara nodded, her charge-pistol raised and finger on the trigger, "I know what you mean." She took a deep breath and reached out with her mind, "Other than us there's only two other sentient beings in here… and what feels like fragments…" Fara stood still and looked around, "I think I feel the fragments that way," she pointed to the left wall.

"Then we should split up," Defender pointed to a where the main hallway split off to the left and right, "I'll take Fara and Hope search for these 'fragments', Tenderheart you take Life Heart, Connie and Falco up to No-Heart's throne room and lab as planned."

Tenderheart nodded, "Right."

"Good luck Connie," Hope clasped her twin sister's hand.

"You too Hopie," Connie gave her a thumbs up as they split off into two groups.

It wasn't long before Tenderheart's group came to the double doors of what was once No-Heart's throne room. Tenderheart nodded to Life Heart and Connie, who knew what to expect, then pushed the doors open.

Shrieky was seated on No-Heart's throne, her magic mirror atop a staff at her side. As soon as she saw the Care Bears she shot up and screamed, "Beastly! Why are there Care Bears in my castle!?" She didn't even wait for Beastly to respond before she aimed her staff at the group. "I'll make sure you don't leave! Magic Mirror make them pay! Make them forever rue this day!" A blast of purple energy shot out of her mirror right as the group.

Everyone dodged aside, Falco doing a combat roll and aiming at her with his charge pistol. "Stay out of this you overgrown brat!" He fired off a single yellow energy bolt that Shrieky stumbled forwards out of the way of, letting to blow the top off her wooden throne.

"Stupid Care Bird!" She rounded on Falco and sent out a continuous steam of energy towards Falco, forcing him to dodge aside as the beam turned sections of the floor into bronze.

"Care Bear Stare!" Tenderheart shot off a blast of multicolored light at Shrieky, who grunted in pain as it struck her.

"I'm going to make you into bronze statues for my new throne room!" She turned her blast on Tenderheart, who barely dodged back in time.

Life Heart's horn flashed and a transparent barrier of energy appeared in front of Tenderheart to block the beam, a skin of bronze appearing on the wall.

"Care Bear Stare!" Thoughts raced through Connie's head as she fired off her own stare at Shrieky, striking her again. She could easily end this with her tummy symbol power but she was still nervous about showing her abilities to the rest of her family.

Nearly being bronzed by a beam from Shrieky made up Connie's mind. She charged up close to Shrieky and shouted, "Freeze Frame!" her tummy symbol flashed like a camera and in an instant, Shrieky froze in place. Everything stopped for a moment as Connie wiped her forehead in relief that it had worked.

"Shrieky?" The whiny voice came from Beastly, who had been hiding behind the doorway to No-Heart's lab where the Thunder Pit was located. He crept up on the purple-haired woman, still stuck in mid-casting pose.

Beastly was about to touch Shrieky when Connie shouted, "Don't touch her!" She stepped forwards, "Unless you want her to start moving again."

Beastly stepped back, "N-n-n-not really."

"Good, then just stay back while we search through No-Heart's notes." Connie turned to the other three in the hall, "All clear."

Life Heart nodded then turned towards the door Beastly had emerged from, "Alright, if that's No-Heart's lab I'll start searching his notes."

"Here, let me help." Falco holstered his blaster and jogged after Life Heart as she entered the lab.

Tenderheart narrowed his gaze towards Connie as she approached him, "Contrary Heart, what was that?"

"What was what?" Connie tried to play innocent.

Tenderheart's voice became harsh, "Don't act like you don't know. What did you do to Shrieky?"

Connie gulped, she was afraid this day would come and now that Tenderheart was staring her down she couldn't get out of it. She sighed, "It's something I found out I could do with my tummy symbol by accident, I can make people or things freeze in place until something living touches them."

"How long have you known you could do this?"

"Since I was a cub…" Connie averted her gaze.

Tenderheart softened, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because I was afraid of what everyone would think, I felt weird and out of place even with the Magi around…" Connie turned back to Tenderheart, she was desperately trying to hold back tears.

Tenderheart approached her and took hold of her shoulders, "Contrary, why would we treat you like that. We're all different whether that means strange powers or different personalities."

"Are you going to make me tell everyone about this?" Connie shrugged out of Tenderheart's grasp and rubbed her eyes.

Tenderheart sighed, "I'm not going to force you, but you shouldn't keep this a secret." He looked over at the lab, "I'll talk to Falco and Life Heart about this."

Connie visibly relaxed, "Thank you, Tenderheart."

"I think I've gathered all the information from No-Heart that I can." Life Heart and Falco emerged with several books and scrolls in their arms, "I can't stay here to read it all but the topics cover some magic I'm familiar with, stuff I never thought I'd use."

Tenderheart nodded, "Good, now we just need to wait for the other team." As if in response, his heartphone started ringing and he answered. "Hello?"

"It's Defender Bear," the white bear's voice sounded distressed, "We found the source of the fragments Fara sensed and... it's horrifying." The sound of retching came from nearby.

"What was that?" Tenderheart was afraid of the answer.

"That was Hope losing her lunch." Defender turned to look in the room that had caused the reaction, "We found a room full of rotting corpses, of Care Bears." Indeed, the room was full of bodies. The lack of most microbes in No-Heart's castle and the lack of heat in the room meaning the bodies hadn't decayed to skeletons despite their age, nor had they dried out and mummified. Defender couldn't bring himself to look long enough after he saw one head only half intact. Even Fara could barely stomach collecting a few samples in specimen bags that Defender created for her with his magic.

Tenderheart felt his stomach turn, "Do you think Mental Heart left them here?"

Defender averted his gaze, "I don't think so. Fara's collecting some samples of them for Take Care to do DNA tests to see if… we have any relations to them."

Tenderheart was starting to feel queasy, "Right. We have No-Heart's magical notes, we'll meet up with you at the entrance." He hung up.

"Excuse me, what should I do?" Beastly had a hand raised.

"If you want her to stay like that, don't let anything go near her," Connie said, "Or if you don't want to be her servant, run away before she wakes up."

The three Care Bears and Falco left the throne room leaving Beastly to ponder this question. The castle was all he had ever known and the few times he had it to himself were some of the biggest thrills he had ever had, but Shrieky would no doubt punish him for his negligence and he was sick of being anyone's servant. With everyone else gone, Beastly bolted for the tower where his bike-copter was. He wrenched the side car off and hopped on, cycling away into the sky towards the Kingdom of Caring. He could hide in the deep Forest of Feelings where even the Cousins rarely went until he figured out what else he could do. He's snuck around the Kingdom of Caring without being caught before so hiding out would be a breeze. He didn't even notice the infiltrators being teleported back to the Kingdom of Caring, not that he would have cared anyway.

OoOoO

Futureheart unsheathed his large sword and swung it at the locked door, bisecting it then kicking the half connected to the handle inwards. The two men at the security desk were already facing him with their guns drawn but Futureheart was too fast and he charged in, striking them with the flat end of his sword which knocked them out.

"Security room clear," he called back, prompting one of the riot police and FBI agent to move in.

"Right, disconnect everything so they'll go blind," the FBI agent set around shutting off every panel.

Futureheart picked up the radio he'd been given by John on the ride over. "This is Ursus, security room's down."

John was pressed up against a wall as he answered, bullets occasionally shooting past him, "Good, we think we've found the elevator controls but we're pinned down. Me, Slippy and Andrew," he nodded to the FBI man standing on the other side of the wall. "Get one of the officers with tear gas up here."

"Wait, I can help." Guidance Heart came running up to meet John, Bright Heart hot on her tail.

"What can you do?" Andrew shouted across.

"Just give me a moment," Guidance brought her hands together and created a ball of light about the side of a basketball in her hands. "I just need a moment," as she spoke the blue raccoon faded from sight, the bright ball of light the only indication of her presence. A moment later the bal shot sideways then launched itself down the hall, a few shots ringing out but only striking the side wall until the light burst and screams of pain were heard as the light blinded them.

Wasting no time, John, Andrew and Slippy were in the hall, shots ringing out until the cries of pain stopped. It was silent for a moment before they heart John speak, "Hallway clear, going into the control room."

Bright Heart stepped into the hall and stopped when he saw the two security guards, wearing what looked like body armor, lying with blood leaking form their heads, and one with half his torso missing, blasted away by Slippy's sidearm. "They're dead…"

John saw the kind raccoon's face twist in horror and sighed, "They were trying to kill us and we didn't have time to cuff them, not to mention," he picked up one of the weapons, an assault rifle, "Weapons like these mean business. Sorry Bright Heart but in this line of work, people die. Now let's make sure we have this place secure."

Thankfully, the two men in the elevator control room surrendered as soon as John kicked the door down. Moments later they were zip cuffed and Andrew was leading them down to the lobby.

"This is John. We have elevator control. Send Eric here to keep control of things and the last two police here for protection." He turned to Bright Heart, Guidance and Slippy." Once this place is safe, we're taking the elevator up to Quentin's private office. Hopefully we'll find the evidence we need there."

"This is Truth Bear, we've secured the second floor. I'll meet you at the elevator on the third floor momentarily."

OoOoO

The door to Cold Heart's castle was wide open, making it child's play just to walk in. Even through the cold weather gear, Take Care shivered but more from nerves than anything, the bag with the hard drive strapped over her shoulder.

Sweet Heart was having the hardest time staying upright, her hooves not used to the ice that made up the floors. Cozy Heart, on the other hand, was waddling in the lead, not dressed and not at all uncomfortable, apart from being in the lair of one of their enemies.

At first, things went smoothly, until a familiar voice was heard. "Duh, stop right there! Professor Cold Heart said to keep you out." Frostbite stood there armed with a mop, probably the first thing he could get his hands on.

"We don't have time for this," Sweet Heart shivered and was about to shoot a blast of air at the rotund little man, only to slip and fall flat on her face with a dull "ow…"

Cozy Heart was on it. She charged at Frostbite and threw herself to the ground, sliding past him on her belly as he tried to strike her, but missed and almost lost his footing.

"Come back here!" he took off after Cozy.

"You have to catch me firssst!" Cozy taunted, giving herself an extra push as he tried to catch up.

Fox couldn't help but chuckle, "guess we'll leave the security to her. Now let's find his computers and get out of the frozen hellscape."

"Yes, the sooner the better," Take Care shivered again and they set off exploring the castle, occasionally seeing Cozy slide past with Frostbite cold on her trail, but ignoring the rest of the group.

It took the better part of an hour to find Cold Heart's computer room, and it looked like something out of the 50s: a giant machine covered in blinking lights and dials that took up the entire wall of one room with a giant monitor on a second wall.

Brave Heart whistled, "Boy, Cold Heart never did get with the times. I bet my heartphone holds more data than this thing."

"Now we just need to find a computer port," Peppy began searching, as did the others.

Take Care beelined for the giant monitor and began checking the controls. They were a bit frosty but she found the port right away, a very old port that looked like s-video. "OK, let's see." She pulled out the hard drive Bright Heart had given her and the multiple cables. "He really does think of everything," she found the right converter and plugged it in, hooking up the hard drive.

"Hey, don't touch that!" Frostbite had apparently lost Cozy's trail and ran into the computer room. He charged straight at Take Care, mop upraised, but Indy stepped into his path and struck the mop handle with his hand wreathed in psionic energy, snapping it in two, the shoved his other hand into the rotund man's face, a burst of psionic energy blowing him back to slide across the ice.

"Stay back," was all Indy said. Take Care couldn't help but smile behind her scarf at Indy's action in protecting her, even if it was from Frostbite.

Frostbite stood up, "No, ProfessoorrRRRRRRRR!" his speech became a shout when Cozy zipped right past him on her belly, sending him into a tornado like spin until he hit a wall and fell down, stars spinning around his head as the world spun around him.

"Sssorry, didn't know he lossst me," Cozy stood up.

"Just keep an eye on him until we're done. Grumpy can you help me?" Take Care said as Brave Heart, Fox and Peppy went to stand guard over him.

"Looks good so far." Grumpy punched up some data, "Yeesh, not even one terabyte, and it's all text and picture files. Might as well take them all."

"Alright," Take Care looked up at the big screen as images from Cold Heart's oldest work flashed up as they were saved to the hard drive one by one. She started to feel uneasy as each screen flashed up, and catching fleeting glances of a name: Alexander Coldwell.

Then the images came, all labeled "Test Subject" with a six letter code immediately after them. Take Care felt her stomach churn as memories began to surface.

Then she saw it.

It was only on screen for a couple seconds but to Take Care it was up there for hours. Two large cages, one containing two adult bears slumped to the floor as if asleep and the other containing a bear cub, their cub, trying in vain to get out and reach them. Even as the image vanished, Take Care turned and bolted from the room, even the boost designed for ice barely keeping her from slipping.

"Take Care!" Brave Heart, Grumpy and Cold Heart called after her.

Indy was on the move," Grumpy, keep downloading, I'll go see what's wrong." He took off after Take Care, leaving the others to their tasks.

Take Care didn't get far, just two rooms away before she slumped against a wall and sank down the to floor. She was shaking, not from the cold but as memories she hated reliving flowed through her mind again. She didn't even register Indy's presence until he was at her side, shaking her gently to get her attention.

"Take Care!. Take Care what's wrong?" Indy asked.

Take Care turned to face him. Her eyes were teary and she wished she didn't have the tinted snow goggles on so she could wipe them. "It was him…"

"Him? Cold Heart? What was him?" Indy was completely confused.

Take Care sniffed and brought her knees up to her chest as best she could in the winter gear, "Alexander Coldwell… no…Cold Heart. He's the one who killed my parents."

Indy sat down next to her, "Take Care, please talk to me. What happened?"

Take Care turned to face Indy. Though she couldn't see his eyes through the tint of both his goggles and her own, she just knew she would find nothing but sympathy and understanding in them. So she told him.

"It was… before I joined the Care Bear Family, before I was even a Care Bear. I was a bear cub living in woods that were being torn down for a laboratory. I didn't know so I went to investigate the strange thing that was appearing in my home. Then the owner, a man named Coldwell, captured me and stuffed me in a cage." Take Care's voice wavered as she spoke, "then he caught my parents when they came looking for me and… he started testing things on us, horrible things that caused pain and he barely fed us. I was kept separate from my parents but I could see them, I watched them…" she choked up for a moment, "I saw them die! He killed them!" Take Care started sobbing, even through her gear.

Indy didn't know what else to do so he hugged her. "Don't worry, Take Care, I'm here." Both fervently wished there weren't currently several kilograms of cold weather gear between the two of them, but Indy held on to her nonetheless until she was finished.

By the time Take Care had calmed down, the rest of the group had finished their job. Indy helped Take Care to her feet as they rejoined the group, offering to drive her straight home. Sweet Heart and Grumpy agreed to give the mission report so the two of them could spend time alone.

OoOoO

The elevator opened on to the penthouse to silence. Futureheart stepped out first with his sword in both hands, followed shortly by Confidence Heart.

"Empty," Futureheart whispered, loud enough for Confidence to hear.

"Yeah," Confidence motioned for everyone else to follow them: Slippy, Truth Bear, Guidance Heart, Bright Heart, John and his three remaining FBI agents.

"No time to waste then, let's get in there." John walked up to the doors and tried to push them open, but they wouldn't budge.

"Allow me," Futureheart stepped forwards and sliced the doors down with his sword.

"A bit much, but effective," John couldn't help but smirk as they entered the room.

The office was lavish but looked like a high end office one would find in most office buildings owned by CEOs who didn't do much: large desks, bookshelves full of books and liquor cabinets that were currently empty.

"Search the room, we need to find anything that might give us some clue what Quentin is up to." Everyone scattered to check the room.

After ten minutes of searching with no results, John received a call on his radio. "Hello?"

"John, it's Eric. I've managed to dig through the elevator control system and there seems to be a private elevator in Quentin's office, hidden behind a bookcase."

"How cliché can he get?" John shook his head, "Thank you Eric, keep things going smoothly."

Bright Heart was the one who found the bookcase and Futureheart pried it open to expose the door. Slippy managed to get it open and they all piled in to the elevator and rode it down, a long, long ride that took them deep underground.

They stepped into a brightly lit room full of scientists and computers. John was quick to pull his sidearm and shouted, "Everyone hands up and down on the ground!" The sound of the arriving group was enough to get all the scientists down on the ground. In just a few minutes they were all zip-cuffed and being guarded by the entrance, some protesting they were being held against their will. John assured them he would look into their backgrounds once they were free as Slippy and Bright Heart poured over the information.

"There's dozens of terabytes of data here, some of it might not even ben relevant," Slippy stared at the screens.

"Let's get started then," Bright Heart began pulling multiple external hard drives from his tummy symbol.

"As soon as you've copied everything we're out of here," John said, "Overall I think this has been a complete success."

OoOoO

Take Care sat at home between Indy and Cautious Heart as Get Well brought her a mug of tea.

"Thank you," Take Care whispered as she sipped her tea. "It was before I was even a Care Bear. I lived in a forest with my parents. My dad was unusual, since most male bears just leave their children behind, or even try to kill them but he helped raise me. Someone was cutting down the forest to make room for a building. I was too curious, I went to investigate and got captured and when my parents came…they were captured too." She took another drink, "I heard his name over and over, Professor Coldwell. I… don't like to remember those days but I saw that name on Cold Heart's computer. It was him, he killed them and almost killed me too… and it was my fault." Take Care was tearing up, "If I have hadn't gone to look, they wouldn't have been captured and…" Take Care broke down, dropping her mug of teat and sobbing uncontrollably.

Indy caught the mug with telekinesis, even putting the liquid back in the mug before he set it on the tea tray Get Well had brought in.

"Mom, it's alright." Cautious Heart rubbed her back, "I know it hurts, but if you weren't a Care Bear, what would have happened to me and Get well?"

Take Care sucked in a shuddering breath, "I know, seeing you two so happy and healthy."

"Just let it all out," Indy rubbed Take Care's back and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Don't worry, we're here for you."

Take Care couldn't help but smile through the tears, "Thank you Indy, Get Well, Cautious." Take Care found herself wrapped in a hug from Indy, Get Well and Cautious. She felt safe, and loved, and the pain of her past suddenly felt so much more bearable as she hugged them back. Though she was crying, she was still smiling.


	18. Home Insecurity

Chapter 18: Home Insecurity

"So these are the mercenaries," Andross circled around the six armored mercenaries that Illyana had brought back with her. "I believe we have some use for them. But what of this… thing?" Andross and stared at the fat slob who stood next to the mercenaries.

"This is Big Joe, he handles being the face of my interests," Illyana waved him off before she continued. "I have more companies of mercenaries ready to go, but I keep them in small cells to keep them from drawing too much attention."

"I might be able to do something with them, if I have some nanites to work with," Andross turned to Quenos, who was hunched over his latest project.

"I have some spares," he pointed to a small canister that sat with several others in his work area. "Don't disturb me, I need to get this finished."

"Very well." Andross took the nanite canister. "I'll need time to experiment on these." He headed for his ship.

"Then perhaps we need to shake things up for the Care Bear Family." Mental Heart seemed to appear out of nowhere among the group. "Their raids of your old lairs mean they're becoming too comfortable with the current situation."

"If I can get to their home, I could take some of them prisoner," Illyana got a wicked grin on her face, "Perhaps their children. I doubt they would be so complacent if we had their children hostage."

"I would agree with that," No-Heart's voice rang out from his crystal throne, "Mental Heart can tell you how to get to their home, but don't draw their attention back here."

"Good," Illyana turned to her employees and pointed to three of them, "follow No-Heart's directions and go to the Kingdom of Caring to claim any children you find up there. Keep them alive, for now."

"You got it," Big Joe had been standing in silence, stunned by what he saw around him, until now.

Mental Heart stepped among the four men and a moment later they were whisked away by his powers.

OoOoO

Take Care wasn't looking forwards to examining the samples of Care Bear remains that Fara had brought back from No-Heart's castle, especially so soon after her own experience, but she was at least grateful they weren't full bodies. As soon as she had finished writing up her report she headed for the Hall of Hearts in the early evening.

Only John, two of his FBI agents, the Star Fox Team, Bright Heart, Grumpy, Tenderheart Brave Heart and the Magi were in the Hall of Hearts. Notes printed from the data they had gathered from both Cold Heart's castle and Quentin Industries spread across the entirety of the large hollow-heart shaped table that was used for meetings. Everyone was walking around to examine the notes, John asking Life Heart what the writing in No-Heart's magic scrolls and books meant.

Brave Heart was the first to see Take Care and set down the notes he had been reading. "So, did you find anything?"

Take Care nodded, "I did." She raised her voice so everyone could hear, "I have the information on the remains Fara brought me." Her voice gathered everyone's attention and they gathered closer to hear what she had to say. "The remains came from more clones of the Care Bear Family. I checked several times to make certain and I found the same variances in their DNA that I found in Truth Bear and Lily's DNA that identify them as clones. I found DNA for Tenderheart, Brave Heart, Swift Heart, Funshine, Cozy Heart and True Heart in the remains."

Brave Heart clenched a fist, "So No-Heart cloned all of us and just disposed of them?!"

Truth Bear was staring at the floor, "He made more, like me? But they never had a chance to live, or find their place in life." Hot tears of rage started to form in his eyes as Defender came over to comfort his brother.

"I hate to say this, but you turning against him is probably what prompted him to be less forgiving with them," Guidance Heart said.

Truth rubbed his eyes, "I know, I don't regret my choices but I can't stand the thought of this."

Take Care waited before she continued, "I can't determine how long the remains have been there, because there are so few microbes and sunlight in No-Heart castle the rate of decay is much lower than what you'd find on Earth." Take Care sighed, "Not sure what else to make of this. What did we find in Cold Heart's notes, Grumpy?"

Grumpy set down the papers her had been reading, "It's all junk. 75% of it is just notes on the machines he's used to fight us in the past, 5% is stuff he never got around to using and the rest of it is just notes from when he was called Alexander Coldwell."

Bright Heart winced, being one of the few Care Bears who knew Take Care's past.

Life Heart picked up the conversation, "As for No-Heart's magic. There aren't any notes about his plans here, just alchemy formulas for his spells and magical notes. He doesn't seem to have kept notes on future plans here. I can use most of these spells but they don't give any real indication as to what he's up to right now."

"Fortunately, what we copied from Quentin's servers is more revealing. The technological advancements aren't too far ahead of what's being done now." Bright Heart spoke up, "One thing he's been involved in is prolonging medical treatments. Some of his scientists created a cure for muscular dystrophy and were turning it from a single cure into a series life-long treatments."

Take Care tensed up, "Just to extort money from sick people."

Brave Heart turned to John, "So what are you going to do with his innovations?"

John looked over the notes Bright Heart had been pouring over, "We'll try to make them public but medical companies are going to push back against this. It will be a minimum of six years of testing for any of these cures to be even be eligible for FDA approval and that's just the regular testing." John sighed, "Even if we endorse these they will stand to make a lot of treatments obsolete."

"And people who profit off that are going to leverage the money and influence they have to delay them as long as possible," Guidance Heart glared at the notes, "And even if it does get through, they're probably going to charge people an arm and a leg to get them just to keep their margins up when they could just take the money they've made and retire."

"Even if we get it through the red tape, I just know those anti-vaxxers will try to stop it, or refuse treatment for them or their children!" Take Care's voice raised and she tensed up until Indy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you be alright?" he asked.

Take Care took a deep breath, "I'll be fine, I've just had a very long day."

"I know," Tenderheart sighed, "We'll do what we can to help them see reason."

"There's more," John motioned for everyone to look at his set of notes. "According to this, Quentin was working on developing nanomachines."

Some of the Care Bears shared looks. They knew what it meant but they knew they had to keep their knowledge of future events secret for now.

Bright Heart was able to play along without giving the game away, "Quentin was running into a problem with heat. All the tiny legs of the nanomachines generate a massive amount of friction which caused them to overheat and the legs to snap off, rendering the machines useless."

"That would be where Cold Heart comes in," Grumpy picked up some notes, "One thing Cold Heart knows better than any I've encountered is cooling systems. If they're working together that would be what they need Cold Heart for: creating a miniaturized cooling system powerful enough to keep the nanomachines from breaking down."

"That explains what happened with the nano assassin at the UN." Tenderheart spoke up, "If Cold Heart developed the cooling system then it's likely vulnerable to the energy of our Care Bear Stare. When I used mine on the nano it probably disabled or destroyed the cooling unit and the nanomachines just broke apart."

"Then if they have that weakness wouldn't they be working to overcome it?" One of the FBI agents asked.

"Most likely. Unless they do what they've always done and just abandon an idea the moment it fails." Grumpy put the notes down.

John shook his head, "If Quentin is working with them I doubt he'll let them do that. He's a scientist and any successful scientist knows that you need to try and fail a number of times before you get something right. Even then we might see more of them, if only the Care Bear Stare can destroy them."

"For now take your copies of the info back to your boss," Bright Heart said, "We'll have to inform the UN about this and take it from there."

"I have my copies secured," John turned to leave, "We can't reveal this to the public yet, but I will leave it up to you to decide if you want to reveal it."

"We'll take it under consideration. Thank you," Tenderheart shook hands with John before he left.

Everyone waited in the Hall of Hearts until they were certain John and his FBI men had left. Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Flair Heart leaving without anyone taking notice as Guidance was exhausted from her mission.

"They're no longer in Care-a-Lot," Fara confirmed.

Everyone turned to Futureheart. He didn't need psychic powers to know what they were going to ask. "Cold Heart has created a cooling system to keep the nanomachines from overheating and it is disabled by the Care Bear Stare. They will develop a version that is immune to this effect and place it in a machine called The Prank. It's a much more powerful nanomorph that looks like a clown and is all but unstoppable. Bright Heart eventually calculated that it would take over 200 Stares attacking it simultaneously to destroy it."

"When is The Prank coming?" Tenderheart asked.

"Very soon, in less than a week, on Flair Heart's birthday in Paradise Valley." Futureheart looked around, noticing that Anger Heart and Guidance Heart had taken their son, Flair Heart, out before his speech started. "I'll have to talk to them later."

"Then we should evacuate the valley," Brave Heart said.

"Where would we take them?" Tenderheart asked. "I want to help save them too but we can't forcibly relocate them by telling them an evil clown made of tiny robots is going to come and kill them because a man from the future said so."

Brave Heart blinked, "I mean… it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that."

"Not to mention we don't know if this will even happen," Bright Heart added. "I trust your judgement, Futureheart, but now that we've raided their old headquarters and destroyed the first nanomorph they're likely to change their plans. You've helped us change the future and now your version of events are far less likely to play out like you remember them."

Futureheart just stared at everyone around him, "I understand, but I can't stop trying to change things. I won't let that future happen." Without another word, Futureheart turned and left the Hall of Hearts.

Tenderheart watched him go then turned back to the papers and books strewn across the Hall of Hearts, "Alright everyone, let's get this cleaned up and organized."

A collective groan arose from everyone.

OoOoO

The next day, Cautious Heart Cat was got a message on her heartphone about a caring mission. She passed by Take Care and Indy on her way out, then paused.

"Indy?"

Indy looked up from the book he was reading, "Yes?"

"Can you come with me on my caring mission?"

Indy closed his book, "Of course." He turned to Take Care and gave her a kiss, "I'll keep her safe."

"I know you will. Good Luck," Take Care watched them go then turned back to her book. Love Heart's order about all caring missions needing a Magi escort still stood as long as Mental Heart was out there. Even though she trusted Indy, Take Care couldn't help but be nervous about what might happen.

Indy conjured a cloud car, "Mind if I drive?"

"Go ahead, I still need to review the mission." Cautious Heart got into the passenger's seat as Indy got behind the wheel then took off.

"So what's the mission?" Indy asked once they were in the air.

Cautious Heart was staring at her heartphone, "A young girl ran away from home after an argument with her parents because they moved from a big city to a small town. She's currently on a bus heading back to the city she used to live in. We should be able to catch up with her at one of the rest stops between cities. Here."

Indy glanced over at the spot Cautious was pointing to on her phone scree, "OK. Resetting the GPS," he turned the car's autopilot on and set it to head for the rest stop in question. Now that he could take his hands and feet off the controls, Indy turned to face Cautious, "So, do you want to talk about me and your mother?"

Cautious stored her phone away in her tummy symbol then turned to Indy, "Sort of, I mean… It's weird seeing mom so affectionate around you. She cares about us but I haven't seen her like that since she used to tuck me in at night when I was a cub."

"I get it," Indy smiled, "So do things make sense now?"

"Mostly," Cautious Heart turned to look out the side of the Cloud Car, "I mean I've seen you around almost daily for the last decade but it's different now. You're cooking for us, I see you two kissing and I find it hard to believe the same person kissing you is mom, but… I'm adjusting." She turned back to Indy, "Are you two going to get married?"

Indy blinked, "Honestly, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I mean it took us so long to get together so maybe in another ten years. With everything Futureheart told us I hope I'll have a long time to figure it out." A smile crept its way onto Indy's face, "Now that I'm thinking about it, yeah at some point I want to."

Cautious Heart rolled her eyes, "So am I going to have to start calling you 'dad'?"

Indy smiled and turned to look forwards as the rest stop came into view, "Only if you want to."

OoOoO

"So this is the Kingdom of Caring?" Big Joe munched on a burger in his hand, "Looks like a rainbow puked." He stood with Mental Heart and three armed and armored mercenaries (wearing white to blend in with the clouds), near the edge of the Forest of Feelings, out of sight of anyone.

"Just do what you were told to do then contact me," Mental Heart didn't even wait for the fat man and three mercenaries to respond before he surrounded himself in psionic energy and flew away from the Kingdom of Caring.

"Alright, stay down and keep quiet," one of the mercenaries pulled out a set of binoculars. "Looks like we lucked out, a bunch of kids playing alone. Move out and stay out of sight."

Miracle Heart Kitsune, Wild Heart Pegasus, Meek Heart Pegasus, Flair Heart Raccoon, Shimmering Star Bear, Marina Bear and the Mulcaheys were all in the small playground that was right next to the Care-a-Lot schoolhouse. Though none of them were attending normal classes at the moment they still were all over the playground.

Near the sandbox, Mira and Pretty Heart Skunk were sparring again. Mira ducked under on of Pretty Heart's punches and kicked high at her head, just missing as the pink skunk dodged backwards.

"Alright, time out." Pretty Heart held up her gloved hands in the best T shape she could.

Mira grinned, "Told you I'm getting better." She threw her hands down and her training gloves disappeared.

"But it hasn't even been a week," Pretty Heart held her gloved hands forwards so Mira could undo the laces.

"Yeah, but I've been training every day and dad says that we Magi learn and get stronger at fighting faster," she finished untying Pretty Heart's gloves, "Soulful Heart once described us as 'super soldiers' or something like that."

"Makes sense," the voice came from Thorough Heart Weasel, who had taken a break from something he was working on in the sand to watch them. "If you can fight and use magic at this young an age that your dad's going to let you fight then you'd have to be genetically designed for it. But…" he folded his arms and scrutinized Miracle Heart, "Most super soldiers in fiction are mentally unbalanced."

Mira rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, but I can't speak any language I haven't learned."

"What?" Pretty Heart and Thorough Heart just stared at the purple four-tailed fennec fox.

"All Care Bears can speak and understand any language, since they go all over the world to help people, but because we're made to fight, Magi have to learn each language on their own. But dad and grandma made this magic necklaces to let us do that if we need to."

"Kinda like a disability, makes sense," Thorough Heart nodded.

Before any other topics of conversation came up, Mira's ears twitched. Something unfamiliar was nearby. The clunk of metal and plastic rustling together ever so faintly. She ignored the conversation that was springing up between Pretty and Thorough as she turned to listen. The noise stopped.

"Hey Mira-"

"Shh!" Mira shushed Thorough Heart and held up a hand, closing her eyes to try and listen for the sounds again. "Bring everyone over here, don't ask questions," she whispered to them.

Pretty Heart and Thorough Heart saw the serious look on Mira's face and quietly moved to gather all the cubs in the sandbox. Miracle Heart heard what sounded like someone chewing and looked out of the right corner of her eye just in time to see someone being pulled down below a dip in the clouds near the Forest of Feelings. They were close.

Meek Heart had noticed the change in demeanor and walked over to Mira. "What's wrong?" he kept his voice low so only the fennec-kitsune could hear.

"Someone's here," Mira watched as everyone got closer, "Can you raise a magical barrier quickly?"

"Which direction," Meek Heart's horn started to glow faintly.

Mira moved one of her tails to her right, "Over there, if you see any movement, create the barrier." She watched as everyone was gathered by the sandbox.

"Big sister, what's going on?" Shimmering Star asked. He still had his diaper on.

"Stay close, Shimmers, I hope I'm wrong about this." Mira's body was tense.

There was a sudden *click* from nearby and a dart flew out and struck Marina in the arm. Meek Heart reacted quickly and threw up the barrier as two more clicks were heard and the darts broke against the wall.

"Marina!" Flair managed to pull the dark out of the striped blue bear's arm before it injected its entire contents into her. "Tranquilizer, just hold on it won't set in for a while."

"Hold still!" The voice came form Big Joe as he stood up, "Don't make us hurt you!"

"Moron," one of the mercenaries said as they stood up, "alright kids hold still. Let us tranquilize you and you won't be hurt."

"Meek, can you extend that barrier around us?" Mira asked.

"No, I only have enough energy to keep one of these barriers up at a time. I need more practise," Meek Heart still had his hands up to hold the barrier in place.

"Lie still and rest," Flair lay Marina down and stood up to watch as two of the mercs split left and right to flank them.

"We have to fight," Mira said, "Flair take the right, I'll take the left, Meek focus on the front one. Wild Heart, send out an alert signal." Miracle Heart's tummy symbol glowed as she conjured metal gauntlets and greaves; unlike her mother's weapons, Miracle Heart's completely covered her hands and feet. Flair Heart's symbol glowed and he conjured a rapier into his right hand as the two mercenaries got around the barrier.

Mira and Flair both shouted and charged at the mercenaries, Mira bringing up a hand to block the tranquilizer dart that the mercenary fired at her then jumped at him and aimed a punch at his chest. She struck his armor and knocked him back but he didn't flinch and pulled out a tranquilizer dart to reload his gun, only for Mira to strike his gun out of his hand.

Flair ducked under a shot that struck the clouds behind him and tried to strike through his armor, but only struck across the surface. He was forced to dodge as the merc pulled out a knife and tried to stab him, which give the merc time to back up and reload his tranquilizer gun.

Wild Heart's tummy symbol lit up and a copy of it made of light flew up and towards Care-a-Lot.

"Why aren't you helping them fight?" Curious Heart Wolf had dropped flat in the sandbox and was staring up at the orange unicorn girl.

"I'm not allowed to," Wild Heart turned to watch as her twin brother did his best to keep the barrier between himself and the third mercenary. "I decided to practise my magic without permission at the tummy symbol range and I almost burned down the gym, so my big brother held me back at Sergeant." She clenched her fists, "I want to help but… dad keeps saying I need to have self-control so all I can do is send out an alert signal."

The mercenary that Meek was blocking suddenly whipped around and shot at Mira. The dart struck in her arms which prompted the merc she was fighting to step back. "You're done, that'll put you to sleep in no time."

"Big sister!" Shimmers tried to run over to Mira but was held back by Passive Heart Badger.

Mira winced and pulled the dart out, "It's not instant, so I just have a couple minutes to beat you." Mira took a deep breath and punched her fists together, a spark of electricity flashing at the impact point before her entire body became enveloped in yellow lightning, "So I'll just have to go all out!" Mira suddenly charged unleashing a flurry of punches on her opponent, lightning sparking at each impact point, followed up by a kick that knocked him off his feet.

The mercenary in the middle pulled out his side arm and began firing at Mira, only for her to spin to him and block every bullet with her gauntlets until he was forced to reload. Meek took his chance and shoved the shield at the mercenary, shattering it on impact but sending him stumbling back several paces. Meek Heart magically pulled five small stones from around the nearby swings and hurled them at the mercenary, each striking him with force they shouldn't have had and forcing him back.

"Stone Fist!" Meek charged in and punched him, stone momentarily appearing around his hand as he cast the spell and punched the mercenary

Flair's opponent was caught off guard when the pink raccoon jumped back, a ball of darkness shooting out of his free hand and striking through him. The mercenary felt a massive pain through his body but did his best to ignore it and fired a dart at Flair, hitting him in the leg. Flair ignored it and charged, his rapier flashing in to strike the mercenary, finding a spot in his armor to thrust through, rendering his limb numb. The mercenary was forced to try and deflect the rapier thrusts with his combat knife.

Mira's opponent had jumped back up and was attacking her with his combat knife as she deflected each blow and landing hits that sparked with electricity from her fists and feet.

Pretty Heart watched her with awe, "She didn't fight like that when we were sparring."

"This is a fight for her life, not a friendly sparring match," Thorough Heart said, "She's going to do whatever she can to survive, they all are."

"Force them together!" Mira shouted as she spun around her opponent and began to force him towards Meek Heart with the fury of her onslaught.

It was all Meek could do to dodge around his opponent and stay out of the reach of a taser gun he had pulled out. Flair, meanwhile, was luring his opponent towards Meek Heart instead of trying to force him back.

"Now!" Mira spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to her opponent's chest, getting a cut across the leg but forcing him back. Flair got the message and spun around his opponent and used two powerful swings to make him panic into stepping backwards. The two mercenaries backed into each other, the force from Mira's kick forcing the third merc to smack into them and momentarily knocking them off her feet.

It was all Mira needed as she held up her hands, a transparent blue humming blue ball of electricity forming in her hands, "Stun Sphere!" She hurled the sphere at the three mercenaries before they could get up. The ball expanded on impact, the humming reaching ear-splitting pitch as they shouted in pain, small lightning bolts striking out at them from the edges of the sphere.

Mira could feel her head starting to cloud as she focused all her energy into her hand, "I'm going to do something different with your technique dad," blue lightning danced all along her right gauntlet.

Love Heart, Confidence, Defender and Sage Heart ran up just in time to see Mira charge at the mercenaries trapped in the stun sphere.

"Stun Sphere!" Mira struck the edged of the sphere and plowed right through, passing in between the mercenaries and bursting through the other side, "Burst!" the sphere exploded in a massive burst of blue lightning and when the energy dissipated all three mercenaries lay unconscious and covered in electrical burns on the clouds.

Mira turned in time to see her parents run up to her and gave a thumbs up as the adrenaline wore off and her weapons dissolved off her hands and feet. "I beat them dad." Then she fell to the clouds, thankfully soft enough to cushion her fall.

"Shit, I am not sticking around for this!" Big Joe turned to run only to find himself face-to-face with Defender Bear, his sword drawn.

"Stay still if you want to stay alive." His sword burst into flames. Big Joe was so terrified that he fainted dead away.

Sage Heart walked over to his twin son and daughter, Meek Heart and Wild Heart, who turned to face him as he arrived. "Meek Heart, Wild Heart. Tell me what happened here."

OoOoO

Independent Bear stood nearby as Cautious Heart sat on the bench next to the ten-year old girl named Sarah who was the subject of their caring mission. Indy wasn't really good at caring missions, save for the few where he was asked to talk to an introverted child so they wouldn't feel bad just being along, despite the insistence of their peers.

Cautious Heart leaned forwards to look Sarah in the face, as the girl was leaned forwards with teary eyes, "Do you want to go home now?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, but the bus doesn't go back."

Cautious Heart smiled and got off the bench, "Don't worry, we can take you home."

"Hey, girl, are you getting on?" the bus driver called from the bus doors.

Sarah stood up and wiped her eyes, "No, I'm going home."

The driver looked at Indy and Cautious, "Alright, Care Bears, just get her home safe."

"Alright, one cloud car coming up." Cautious Heart conjured a cloud car from her tummy symbol.

"Guess I'm the passenger this time," Indy got into the back seat while Cautious Heart got behind the wheel and Sarah got in the passenger's seat.

The ride mostly passed in silence other than Sarah directing Cautious Heart towards her new town. Indy sat back and watched the highway going by underneath them. No cars going either way. He looked up at the open countryside around them until they approached the town. It was small enough that there were only two main streets that met in the middle and the tallest building near the center of the town only had four stories.

"There, that's my house." Sarah directed Cautious Heart to the street she lived on, a cul-de-sac.

"OK, just a moment." Cautious Heart landed the car on the small grassy boulevard in the middle of the road and let Sarah out.

"That went well," Cautious Heart smiled as she watched Sarah run up her front steps.

"Something's wrong." Indy got out of the car.

"Huh?" Cautious Heart looked up at Indy.

Indy's eyes narrowed, "Listen, it's too quiet. No people, no animals, not even any vehicles."

Cautious Heart stepped out of the cloud car and looked around. Indy was right, the silence was eerie.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Sarah's scream caused both of them to charged towards her house and inside. What they saw stopped them cold.

Sarah's parents and her little brother lay on the floor, their bodies looking like desiccated husks, their faces contorted into screams of pain, and their eyeballs having been torn from their sockets. On the wall, painted in their blood were the words 'WELCOME HOME SARAH'.

Cautious Heart was frozen in shock until Indy touched her shoulder and motioned to Sarah. The young girl was still conscious but she had gone into shock as Indy and Cautious Heart forced her to her feet and helped her outside.

"I see the little girl found her welcome home party." Both Care Bears of them looked up as they got down the front steps to see Mental Heart standing three meters in front of them.

"You monster!" Indy conjured his katana into his left hand and stepped in front of the two girls. "You did this!"

Mental Heart's face remained impassive and his speech far too calm for the situation, "She didn't want her family anymore, so I decided the best this I could do to help her was to get rid of them, and everyone else she didn't want to see."

An icy dread ran through Cautious Heart as she looked around into the houses. Either she hadn't noticed it before or it was only just starting to leak out but there was the faint smell of blood everywhere. She focused on a nearby house and saw an eyeless head sitting in the bay window, and blood splattered across the wall opposite of the window. She tore her gaze away and stared at the ground.

"Stay by me," Indy tensed, ready to attack.

"Are you going to fight me?" Mental Heart asked. "Before you do you should help that girl and put her out of her misery. After what she's seen today I doubt she'll ever recover, if she even lives long enough to be able to."

"How dare you! You bastard!" Indy charged, white psionic energy flowing around him and into his sword.

"If we must." Mental Heart formed a transparent glowing blue blade of pure psionic energy and brought it up just in time to block Indy's strike. "All that power and you still can't do anything to help her."

"Shut up!" Indy deflected his sword off Mental Heart's blade and sliced upwards. Mental Heart dodged backwards only for Indy to form a sphere of white energy in his right hand and throw it at him, which knocked him back a few meters until it exploded and nearly knocked him off his feet.

"I didn't think you had come this far." Mental Heart reached into his pants pocket then flicked his arm forwards, throwing something flat right past Indy.

Sarah was just standing still and staring off into space when the object flew right at her neck, only to be deflected when Indy jumped in the way and sliced the object off course. The object flew back into Mental Heart's hand and he stashed it back in his pocket. "You should just let her die, but if you're so determined to protect her then let's see if you can." Mental Heart crossed his hands over his chest as his psionic energy began to form into a sphere around him.

Indy's eyes widened as he saw what Mental Heart was doing, then turned and all but threw himself on top of Cautious Heart Cat and Sarah, a white dome of energy forming over top of all three of them. It came not a moment too soon as a massive explosion emanated from Mental Heart.

Indy opened his eyes to look at the surroundings, a flash of memories pouring in as he did so. To describe the town now as a "blasted wasteland" would have been a compliment. The houses were scattered in pieces everywhere and those that were still standing were missing most of their walls. The ground was scorched and littered with craters and the bodies of the townsfolk, hurled from the houses that had been destroyed.

Indy stood up, his barrier dissipating, and turned to face Mental Heart who stood in a wide but shallow crater. "You did this. Those towns years ago," he couldn't forget what he had seen over a decade ago, and he'd read the ancient report from when the rest of the Care Bears were cubs about the similarly devastated town the founders had encountered.

Mental Heart uncrossed his arms, "I see you're familiar with my work."

"But why!? Why destroy those towns and why so long ago?!" Indy demanded, staying defensively in front of Cautious and Sarah.

Mental Heart's demeanor cracked and he bared his teeth, "Because they deserved it! For what they did they deserved nothing less!" The debris surrounding him was starting to levitate until he took a deep breath and calmed down, the debris landing around him and his voice returning to the same icy tone he usually kept, "If you want to protect her then go. The day the world ends is fast approaching, I suggest you use your time wisely." A sphere of energy formed around Mental Heart then rocketed off into the sky.

Indy watched the spec as it vanished into the distance then turned to Cautious Heart and Sarah who were huddled together. Cautious Heart looked up at Indy, "Take me home, please."

Indy nodded and conjured a cloud car. They helped Sarah into the backseat then sat in the front seat. "What can we do for Sarah?" Cautious Heart looked back at the girl who hadn't spoken.

"I don't know…" Indy couldn't manage to drive, he just set the autopilot to take them home and sat in silence.

OoOoO

Thankfully, the tranquilizer in Marina, Mira and Flair didn't take long to flush out thanks to Love Heart's magic and the injuries to the cubs were minimal. Defender and Truth Bear were guarding the disarmed and tied up mercenaries.

Meek Heart Unicorn, Miracle Heart Kitsune and Flair Heart Raccoon stood on a small heart-shaped raised platform in the middle of the Hall of Hearts while most of the Care Bear Family sat around the table. Love Heart stood in front of them wearing his general's uniform and smiling at the. "Warrant Officers Meek Heart Unicorn, Miracle Heart Kitsune and Flair Heart Raccoon, after what has happened today and your skill and response in defending the Kingdom of Caring and your fellow Care Bears, I believe you're ready to be promoted to full Magi. Do you accept the rank of Lieutenant and all the responsibilities that come with it?"

"I do!" Mira, Meek and Flair all responded at once.

Love Heart smiled and extended his hand, "Please hand me your Magi ID cards." The three cubs reached into their tummy symbols and pulled out the ID cards with their names, pictures and bronze colored chevrons of a Warrant Officer attached. Love Heart took the cards, cast a simple spell then handed them back, the Warrant Officer's chevrons replaced with the silver bar of a Lieutenant. "Congratulations. As of this moment the three of you have been granted the rank of Lieutenant and full Magi status. You may be asked to perform caring mission escort duties in the near future and you can now access the Magi Gym in the Hall of Hearts for personal training."

There was applause from the rest of the family. Miracle Heart couldn't contain herself any longer and literally jumped for joy, floating softly back to the ground of the Hall of Hearts.

Love Heart smiled then turned around and headed for the table where Wild Heart Unicorn sat with Sage Heart and Life Heart. "Wild Heart, I have one more thing for you."

"Yes, big… I mean General." Wild Heart gulped.

"What you said about not fighting, I would have understood if you fought because your lives were at risk, but I want to applaud you for keeping your self control and not jumping in. I've been informed," he winked at Sage Heart, "That you have gained more control over your magic so I think you're ready for more specialized training." He held his hand out, "Hand me your ID card."

Wild Heart gulped and fumbled for a moment before she produced her card with the Sergeant's chevrons on it. One spell cast later and Love Heart handed it back, the new rank chevrons of Warrant Officer on her ID, "As of now you are a Warrant Officer. You still need more training but I leave it to your discretion to engage in fight for self-defence. I will be pushing you harder from now on though so don't expect to go easier."

Wild Heart's face lit up as she stared at her ID car, "Thanks, big brother." She suddenly covered her mouth upon hearing her faux pas in the formal situation. A fair number of the Care Bears burst out laughing at her embarrassed face and Love Heart chuckled, deciding to overlook this.

It was at that moment that everyone's heartphones went crazy.

Everyone pulled out their phones and saw the caring meter app going crazy, the number going randomly all over the table. Love Heart looked up at Sage Heart. "Just like ten years ago."

"And when you were cubs," Sage Heart looked over at True Heart and Noble Heart.

Love Heart shook his head to dispel the shock and immediately ran to the control room. Others followed him as he tracked the location of the crazy signal, only for the screen to become covered in static when he tried to lock on to the location.

"Just like last time," Tenderheart walked up alongside Love Heart. "Do you know where it is?"

"Whatever the interference is it's completely scrambling the camera." Love Heart sat back, "we'll just have to wait for it to clear up."

"Can you tell where you're looking?" Brave Heart leaned on the control console.

"Not really. Wait, I'm getting a signal from a couple heartphones. It's Indy and Cautious Heart, they're moving out of the area." Love Heart pulled his heartphone out and dialed Indy.

Indy was lost in thought as he went over the day's events in his mind but was jolted back to reality by his phone ringing. "Hello?" he answered.

"Indy, what just happened down there?" Love Heart asked.

Indy's face was grim as he answered, "It was Mental Heart. He was behind it this time and the last two times…"

OoOoO

Mental Heart returned to the hidden cave and turned to where Quenos and Dr. Fright were still working on their project with Cold Heart nearby worked on his own project. The finished body lay in a glass tube. It resembled a clown wearing a yellow outfit with blue and red polka dots, a white face with a big red nose and red curly hair.

"Why is your new project a clown?" Mental Heart asked.

Quenos gave a sinister grin, "Because it's my ultimate joke on the world, or rather my ultimate prank!" He turned to Cold Heart, "Professor, is it finished."

"Yes." Cold Heart was looking through a microscope and set down his tools. "I've refined and reinforced. It would take the power of over 200 of those fuzzy wuzzy's stares to even dent this."

"Good. Install it and I'll get to the programming." Quenos turned back to his screen.

"Hold on a moment," Mental Heart stepped forwards, "I need you to implant an order into your Prank."

Quenos turned to Mental Heart, "I can't do that, if I impose any order into this being of chaos it would temporarily paralyze its body before and after the order is carried out…" Quenos was at first indignant but wilted when he saw the cold stare of Mental Heart's eyes.

The low key but sharp venom in Mental Heart's voice left no doubt in Quenos' mind that he would follow his direction. "I need you to program your Prank to kill the bear named Ursus Futur, or Futureheart Bear. As long as he is alive our plans are in jeopardy."


	19. Consequences

Chapter 19: Consequences

Everyone stood mortified as Independent Bear delivered the report from his mission. Even Love Heart hadn't been told the full details over the phone.

Silence reigned in the Hall of Hearts until Brave Heart spoke up, "Where is Sarah now?"

"Cautious Heart took her home, Take Care said she'd look after her." Indy was doing his best to keep his emotions under control.

True Heart was staring at the table, "So Mental Heart had been around since the Care Bear Family began…"

"I know, I can't believe it either," Noble Heart rubbed her back.

"Question is, why was he keeping himself hidden until now?" Sage Heart asked.

"I don't know but I think we need to call John. The FBI's going to want to know why a small American town just vanished off the face of the Earth." Tenderheart pulled out his cell phone.

"Tenderheart," Love Heart's voice make the bear look up from dialing the contact information John had given them, "See if he can help Sarah too, find some relatives, get her some help."

"Ok," Tenderheart nodded then took his phone call into the leaders' office for privacy.

"While that's being sorted out we need to decide what we're going to do with the men who tried to steal our cubs." Brave Heart turned to Take Care, "Physically, how are they?"

"Injured but not severely. The fat one just fainted." Take Care took a deep breath.

"I know him!" the voice came from Lonesomeheart, "He's one of the people who kidnapped us and killed our parents!"

"Yeah!" Aqua backed her up. Redemption just nodded.

"Hopefully John can take them off our hands too," Love Heart folded his arms, "If we left them here I don't want to imagine what I'd do to them." He looked down at Mira, who was staring up at him. "I know you beat them, Mira, but after what they tried to do I want to make them hurt too."

Mira nodded, "Ok, dad."

Any further discussion was halted when Tenderheart emerged from the leaders' office. "John's on his way up here to deal with the mercenaries and to help Sarah."

It didn't take took long for the FBI helicopter to arrive again, John accompanied by two armored and armed men. Once he had Big Joe and the three mercenaries in custody he came to speak to Sarah at Take Care's.

It took some time to convince Sarah to go with John and he stayed at the Hall of Hearts to tell everyone what he had been able to do.

"I found an aunt and uncle of hers who can look after her and I can get in touch with therapists." John sighed, "I can't promise she'll recover but I'll do what I can. As for the men you captured, 'big Joe' is wanted on several counts of poaching we've managed to trace back to him. He's a U.S. citizen so we'll handle him as per the extradition treaty we have with most nations. The three mercenaries are being turned over to the CIA because they handle out of country affairs and Purity Corp is based in Australia, but I assure you we will get what we can out of them."

"Thanks, John." Tenderheart shook his head. "Just… do what you can for Sarah."

"I will. I promise." John turned and left and shortly thereafter the meeting dispersed.

OoOoO

"At last, the programming is finished. Behold, The Prank!" Quenos stepped away from the container where the nanomorph clown lay. "I've infused his personality with fragments magically copied from the minds of many madmen and serial killers. The perfect insane killing machine."

"Then activate it," Dr. Fright stared at the clown's face, "I want to see the terror it will cause."

Quenos walked up behind Dr. Fright. "You will see the terror first hand." Dr. Fright didn't have a chance to defend himself as Quenos grabbed his head in his left hand, "I need an animating spirit with psionic power to bring this being to life so it can have the focus it needs to follow my orders." He placed his second hand on the case containing The Prank.

"NO! STOP! LET ME GO!" Dr. Fright struggled to get free, only to find himself held in place by Mental Heart's psionic powers.

"Your use to us is at an end in your current form, one way or another that body will be devoid of a spirit this day." Mental Heart watched as a black aura of energy appeared about Dr. Fright's head, then traveled up and along Quenos' arm, leaving the vampiric body limp as the darkness traveled across his arms and was absorbed into The Prank.

Quenos dropped the now soulless body of Dr. Fright to the ground. "That thing will die without a soul inside. Now all we need to do is wait for it to awaken and then I will set it to its gruesome task."

"And I have the perfect target in mind." No-Heart spoke up from his throne, "A place the Care Bears believe is safe from my touch. Paradise Valley."

"You're not the only one who has had success." Andross had emerged from his ship with the three mercenaries he had taken to experiment on earlier. "I have given these three special enhancements that should help them against the special powers the Care Bears have, and even stop them from being shot down."

"I feel a test is in order then." Illyana stepped up to the mercenaries, "If you can find some Care Bears on Earth then it will be your job to disrupt, kill or capture them."

OoOoO

Shimmering Star Bear was finally out of diapers. After a week without an accident, Love Heart told him he didn't have to wear them anymore. It felt weird to the young bear, he couldn't remember when he hadn't worn them. But he still felt proud of himself as he stepped outside, only to find Mira doing warm up stretches just outside the front door.

"What are you doing, Mira?"

Miracle Heart looked over her shoulder as she did a leg lunge, "Getting ready for my first real mission. I'm escorting Trickster Heart Hare on a caring mission."

Shimmers perked up, "Can I come!" He was practically bouncing on his toes.

Mira turned to face him, a look of mild concern on her face, "Sorry Shimmers, but it's too dangerous right now. You're too young and you aren't skilled enough at fighting or helping people to do much."

"Aww…" Shimmers pouted.

Mira smiled, "Relax. When you're older and stronger you can come along, but for now just stay at home with mom and dad. I'll see you after lunch." Mira stretched her arms then jogged off towards the Hall of Hearts.

Trickster was waiting outside the Hall of Hearts when Mira arrived and he looked down at the four-tailed purple fennec-kitsune as she slowed to a stop. "Are you sure you can protect me, kid?"

Mira scowled up at Trickster, "This 'kid' stopped all the other cubs from being kidnapped the other day, and you're only a couple years older than me you just look older because you're not a Magi."

"Alright, yeesh!" Trickster held up his hands and stepped back. "I've got the caring mission data so let's go." Trickster conjured a cloud car from his tummy symbol and literally hopped in. Mira just sighed as she got in the passenger's seat barely having time to buckle up before Trickster took off.

OoOoO

Shimmering Star Bear was thinking about what his sister had said for the rest of the morning and through lunch. It was only when he was returning his tray alongside his parents that he saw Wish Bear doing the same and an idea flashed into his mind.

"Mama, Daddy can I go talk to Wish Bear right now?" he looked up at his parents eagerly.

Love Heart nodded, "Alright, just don't be too long ok?"

Shimmers nodded and took off as Wish Bear was leaving the Hall of Hearts, catching up to her just outside; she had apparently lagged behind Defender and Hope who had left the Hall of Hearts a few minutes ago.

"Wish Bear!" Shimmer's voice made her stop partway down the main rainbow road, "I have a wish for you!" the tan cub practically skidded to a stop in front of her.

Wish smiled down at him, "Alright, what's your wish?" Her tummy symbol started to glow.

Shimmer took a deep breath, "I wish I could be older, stronger and learn magic fast so I can help mama, daddy and big sister Mira fight the bad guys!"

Wish blinked but before she could say anything her symbol lit up bright and bathed Shimmering Star in its light. Shimmers breathed in deep as he felt the warmth spread through him. Then the light vanished and Shimmers looked down at himself.

"Nothing happened…" Shimmers pouted.

Wish crouched down in front of him, "I'm sorry, Shimmering Star, but even my wishes can't do everything. You're going to have to wait to grow up and get stronger on your own."

"Ok…" Shimmers hung his head then turned and dragged his feet as he walked back towards the Hall of Hearts and met his parents as they exited.

Wish watched them talk then hug for a moment before she turned to head home, not noticing her symbol had been glowing the whole time and only then just faded back to its original tone.

OoOoO

Miracle Heart Kitsune was grateful that she didn't have to actually participate in caring missions as she watched Trickster Heart Hare talk to the child he was supposed to help in the middle of a huge concrete plaza filled with benches and rectangular concrete planters full of plants. Mira honestly hadn't been paying attention to the mission as she kept on guard in case Mental Heart showed up.

Mira heard the gunshots before she saw those responsible and she was on her feet in an instant, metal gauntlets and boots forming from her tummy symbol as she did so. Even though people were already fleeing she had to shout, "Get away!" as she ran towards Trickster.

Trick had dropped behind a concrete planter as the three mercenaries clad in black armor came into the plaza, each carrying an assault rifle. Mira ducked behind the stone planter with Trick before they could spot her, flattening her ears so they wouldn't show over the plants.

"What's going on?" Trick whispered.

"Mercenaries just like the other day," Mira whispered back, "But they're using live weapons and there's people here." Mira peeked around the corner to see them searching the area presumably for them.

"Trickster, call for backup. I'm going to keep them busy or try to beat them if I can." Mira took a deep breath then charged out.

"Wait what?!" Trickster was about to follow her on instinct until the sound of gunshots made him stop and pull out his heartphone and dial the control room. "Com'on pick up!" he had to shut out the sounds of gunfire as he kept his head down. Thankfully, Brave Heart picked up after only two rings.

"Hello Trick?" Brave Heart didn't have time for more as Trick started all but shouting.

"Three more of those mercenaries showed up, and they just started shooting!" Trick took a breath, "Mira's fighting them but she needs help! They have guns!"

Brave Heart had to hold the mission center phone away from his ear for a moment, "Alright, just stay down. I'm sending Independent Bear."

"Good." Trick hung up then turned on his camera phone and stuck it out at an odd angle so he could see around the concrete planter without exposing his head to any potential gunfire.

Miracle Heart's was hard pressed to keep up with the three mercenaries on her own. Her reflexes, eyes and ears were good enough that she blocked every bullet fired at her and still land a few punches, but she had to keep pulling away from them after each hit as they tried to box her in or stab at her with their knives, even tried to grab at her tails until she electrified her body.

"Gotta get some distance," Mira was jumping around, using her aerokinesis to hover across the ground in short bursts. People nearby were screaming and Mira could hear sirens in the distance, too far off to get there in time. "This has to work." Mira jumped up and flew into the sky. The three mercenaries were temporarily startled as Mira flew over them and formed the transparent electric blue stun sphere in her hand. "Ya!" Mira hurled the orb down at them. She grinned as the electric orb hit the ground in between them and expanded to catch them all in its electricity.

Mira wasted no time, dropping down hard next to the stunned mercenaries, ignoring the pain from the impact as she charged her fist with blue lightning. "Burst!" Mira charged through the sphere and felt the explosion behind her. She was panting, winded from taking on three solo, and turned around to see her handiwork.

At first it seemed fine, the mercenaries were unconscious just like back at the playground, then they started to stir. One had his face mask removed and Mira saw the electric burns healing before her eyes. "Oh no…" she re-tensed just in time to avoid a barrage of gunfire, dropping behind another concrete planter. She thought about flying up but no, they knew she could fly. Thinking fast she shot a bolt of lightning straight upwards and was rewarded with the sound of gunfire as they shot at what they thought was her taking off.

Mira jumped out from behind the planter even as she heard more people screaming and ran right past a little girl who was sitting on the concrete, too paralysed with fear to move. Mira was too busy dodging for her life to notice the girl and Trick was still hiding on the other side of the plaza. Mira shot a bolt of lightning at one of the merc's assault rifles as he was reloading and hit the magazine, several bursting sounds indicated the heat from her lightning had detonated the gunpowder inside the bullets, rendering them useless. Her moment of triumph was short lived as the merc ditched his now useless rifle and drew a knife as he charged forwards. Mira just barely blocked the knife with her gauntlet and kicked him hard between the legs, but only hit armor. A punch to his stomach was more effective and gave her some breathing room.

Indy arrived like a bolt from the blue, jumping out of his cloud car (that flew into a building and vanished in a harmless puff of clouds) and dropping on top of one of the mercenaries still armed with an assault rifle, slicing the weapon in two then stabbing him through the chest. His partner didn't have time to react as Indy swung his sword through his neck. Indy watched them fall unconscious, the properties of Magi weapons the only reason they were still alive.

The remaining mercenary looked over his shoulder at Indy's arrival, only to get a kick to the legs from Miracle Heart which forced him to back off, not exposing his back to them.

"Just surrender," Indy's voice was calm but firm as he pointed his katana left-handed at the mercenary, "I can drop you without killing you just as easily."

Groans from behind Indy made him look behind him to see the two mercenaries getting back up. One turned to Indy, "That hurt you bastard!"

"What the hell?" Indy was suddenly on the defensive as the one who still had a working assault rifle opened fire. Indy just barely had a time to throw up a psionic barrier to block the bullets as the other reached for his sidearm. Mira darted behind the barrier before he could shoot at her, panting as the prolonged fight was taking it out of her.

"They healed from my lightning too. How do we beat them?" Mira asked.

"Drop your weapons! Now!" Mira and Indy turned to the voice saw the third mercenary had grabbed the little girl, holding her off the ground and pressing his sidearm handgun into the girl's head. "I'll kill her if you don't stop using magic and throw down your weapons in ten seconds!"

"TEN!"

The girl was too terrified to even struggle. Indy didn't drop the barrier as he stared at the hostage situation.

"NINE!"

His mind raced, the paralyzing effect of Magi weapons didn't affect them, or they could recover from it too fast for it to make a difference.

"EIGHT!"

Magical injury didn't work either according to Mira but what if…

"SEVEN!"

Indy didn't see a way out. He dropped his sword. The Mercenary looked at Mira, still tensed for action, and the barrier still shimmering between the two Magi and his partners.

"SIX!"

Indy's katana dissolved as a ball of energy formed in his left palm, the right palm still held up sideways to keep the barrier intact.

"FIVE!"

Indy took a deep breath, his anger boiling over internally as the small ball in his left palm convulsed with energy.

"FO-" Indy's hand whipped up and he shot a small ball of psionic energy right at the mercenary's head, splattering it like chunky salsa. His arm, still holding the gun jerked and fired, thankfully jerking outwards and missing the girl but making her scream at the loud noise.

Mira was stunned but Indy jumped into action, conjuring a new katana and rounding on the last two mercenaries, pushing his psionic barrier ahead of him. The two mercenaries opened fire, their bullets bouncing off his barrier. Indy ducked as he dropped the barrier and took his sword in both hands, with a short shout of rage he swung upwards at the first mercenary as psionic energy wreathed his katana blade, slicing through him and his armor from groin up through his head as he hovered upwards; in almost the same motion, Indy spun at the last mercenary and sliced through his neck.

This time his head fell off.

Indy hit the ground and dropped his katana in shock, where it dissolved on the ground and just stood there, staring at the bloody bodies.

Miracle Heart felt her stomach turn and stumbled off, dry heaving as her breakfast had long ago processed through her stomach.

Trickster stood up in the silence and immediately regretted it, but at least managed to keep his composure and walked over to the screaming girl to gently pull her away from the headless body of the man who had held her hostage as sirens finally signaled the arrival of the police.

OoOoO

Independent Bear was grateful that Trick took the initiative to explain things to the police. The mercenaries having shot first in a place full of civilians meant their deaths were ruled as self-defence and defence of others on Indy's part and he was allowed to go home within an hour of killing them.

First thing Indy did was to dump his blood stained clothes in his washing machine and jump in the shower, trying to scour the blood from his fur. He knew word would spread quickly, everyone would know what he did. Even as the red stains washed out of his silver fur, Indy started to cry. What would happen now? What would everyone think of him.

What would Take Care think of him?

Indy didn't bother redressing after he stepped out the shower and was just finished drying off when he heard a knock at the door.

"Indy, can I come in?" It was Take Care.

Indy gulped, no time to properly process things. He couldn't stop from sniffing or the tears from flowing as he entered his living room, "Yes."

Take Care had come alone and worry was plastered all over her face. She immediately approached Indy and looked him up and down, "Are you injured?"

"No…" Indy said, he turned and slumped onto the small couch he owned.

Take Care sat down next to him, "Trick told us everything. The girl's in shock but getting help, some people were injured by stray bullets, but none severely."

"Other than the three men I killed…" Indy's voice sounded hollow.

Take Care was about to say something when the front door opened again and Confidence Heart Fennec entered. "Hey, Indy. Take Care."

Indy looked over at her, "Confidence? Why are you here?"

"To check up on my brother-in-law after this." Confidence walked over and crouched in front of Indy. "And to repay a favor."

"Favor?" Indy asked.

Confidence Heart gave a small smile, "Ten years ago, when we found Feral Heart Tigress, I did the same thing. Poachers were shooting at me, Brave Heart, Connie, and Feral and even hit Tugs in the shoulder. I was so mad I charged at and killed them. I heard that you stood up for me in front of the rest of the Care Bear Family and defended my actions to save their lives." She edged in next to him so she was sitting on the opposite side to Indy that Take Care was.

Indy nodded, "I remember…but this feels… different…"

"I know." Confidence Heart looked at her hands, "I still remember it like it was yesterday. All I could see was red and think about how they were going to kill us if I didn't stop them. I felt sick for days afterwards. It's never going to go away completely but… just remember… if you didn't do what you needed to then, you, Trick, that little girl and my daughter would all be dead now." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "I need to go see her now. Just take some time off." She looked over at Take Care, who had remained silent throughout the exchange.

Take Care nodded, "Doctor's orders, just let it out."

Confidence Heart stood up and heard Indy sob out, "Thank you," before he started sobbing openly. Take Care hugged him to try and calm him down.

They stayed on his couch for over three hours before Take Care made him some ramen to at least get him stable. Indy ate it gratefully but barely seemed to register as she helped him to bed.

As Take Care was turning to leave, Indy spoke up. "Take Care, please stay with me."

Take Care turned around, "What?"

"By my side, don't leave me until I fall asleep." He sounded so scared.

Take Care nodded, "OK. She sat down on the foot of his bed, then leaned over and kissed him. Indy just barely kissed back. Take Care stroked his rather long hair and face for half an hour before he was finally asleep, but she didn't leave. Eventually she fell asleep on top of the covers next to him.


	20. Birthday Prank

A/N: For all my readers on other sites, I suggest you read this on Deviant art at cryos-r/art/Care-Bears-Family-Adventures-Book-4-Chapter-20-827333913 (Pm me for better link) because of the formatting options available on that site for this chapter.

Chapter 20: Birthday Prank

Anger Heart fox was woken up by the feeling of weight being added to his bed. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to find himself staring at a pink face and green eyes surrounded by a darker pink mask.

"Good morning dad!" Flair Heart Raccoon grinned into his dad's face.

"Son, do you know what time it is?" Anger Heart covered his eyes with his hand.

"Do you know what day it is?" Flair was almost bouncing on the bed with excitement.

Anger Heart groaned, "I just woke up, I barely remember my name. What day is it?"

Flair giggled, "It's my birthday!" He bounced on the bed which made Guidance Heart grunt. "You promised you'd take me to Paradise Valley on my 11th birthday!"

Anger Heart uncovered his eyes, "I will, I promise, just not at," he turned to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table, "5:00 in the morning. Go play video games or something while mom and dad get some sleep and we'll go later, ok?"

"OK!" Flair bounced off the bed and bolted from the room.

"That went better than I thought it would," Guidance Heart rolled over. "So how long do we sleep for?"

Anger rolled over to face her, "Just until he comes in again." They kissed then closed their eyes and fell back asleep.

Flair Heart thankfully became so engrossed his game that he didn't bother his parents for the three hours they slept in. Anger Heart and Guidance Heart finally shuffled out of bed and showered together before they came downstairs for breakfast. Flair hadn't bothered to make his own, always willing to wait for his dad to cook something: sunny side up eggs, sausages and grated hash browns all made from scratch.

Anger Heart was halfway through eating his breakfast when there was a knock at the door. Anger Heart groaned, "Excuse me." He got up and headed for the door. Anger Heart's brow furrowed when he opened the door and found Futureheart Bear standing there. "What do you want?"

"Anger Heart, you can't go to Paradise Valley today." Futureheart's voice was hard and direct.

Anger Heart looked over his shoulder to see that Flair was standing in the kitchen doorway, "Just give me a minute, birthday boy." Anger Heart smiled then stepped out of his house and shut the door behind him before he turned to Futureheart, "What did you just say?"

Futureheart grabbed Anger Heart by his shoulders. "You can't go to Paradise Valley today. The Prank is going to attack and your entire family is going to die!"

Anger Heart forcefully shrugged his shoulders to shake Futureheart's hands off, "I have to go."

"Do you even understand what I'm saying?" Futureheart sounded desperate.

"Future Tenderheart, did you ever have kids?" Anger Heart was trembling with rage as he looked the brown bear square in the eyes.

Futureheart blinked, "I was going to, but…no."

"Then you don't know what it's like, to have to look after them all the time, to know that they depend on and look up to you and that expect they can trust you." Anger Heart's eyes narrowed, "I've been promising my son for months that I would take him to Paradise Valley on his 11th birthday. He's finally old enough and he's been asking once a week since Christmas. If I back out now do you know what that will do to him? To how he trusts me and his mother?"

"But what about your lives! About his life! Don't you care?!" Futureheart realized a bit too late that he had made a poor choice of words.

"Of course I care!" Anger Heart shouted, "It's because I care that I'm doing this!" He stepped forwards, pushing his nose right up against Futureheart's, which forced him to step back, "I can tell you've never had kids for real because my promise means more to him than my life. I'm a father and I promised I was going to be a great one ever since I found out Guidance was pregnant! And now not only have I reached the promised day but Flair Heart has done exceptionally as a Magi, he's stronger than I was at his age and he's even ready to take on missions! I'm going to give him one great day of being a kid before he gets too obsessed with doing well to prove himself and that's final!" Anger Heart felt his tail starting to throb, threatening to split into eight at a moment's notice, so he stepped back and took a deep breath. "Now get out of here, I have breakfast to eat and a day to plan for my son's birthday, not to mention I'm expecting Miracle Heart and Marina Bear over for lunch." Anger Heart turned and walked back into his house, slamming the door shut behind him.

Anger Heart found himself staring down at Flair with Guidance right behind him. "Dad, are you alright?"

Anger Heart sighed, "Just needed to let off some steam at him, I'm fine."

"Dad, we don't have to go today, I can wait…" Flair scuffed the floor with his foot.

Guidance Heart looked down at her son, "Do you still want to go?"

"Yeah, but that bear from the future doesn't want us to go… so…"

Anger Heart crouched down and gave his son a hug, "But nothing, I promised we'd go today and I'm going to keep that promise. Now let's finish breakfast before your friends come over, ok?"

Flair smiled as he let go, "Ok."

OoOoO

Unable to think of what else he could do, Futureheart went to the Hall of Hearts for breakfast and found himself sitting alone. He didn't want to go to the Great Fox, too many bad memories there.

It wasn't long before Futureheart looked up and saw Tenderheart sitting across from him.

"Something wrong?" Tenderheart asked.

"Anger Heart just threw me out of his house when I tried to convince him not to go to Paradise Valley today." He sighed and stared at his half-empty tray, "why does it have to be today, couldn't he have taken Flair Heart before this?"

Tenderheart tilted his head to the sides, "Yeesh, did I really become this detached after becoming psychic?"

"What?" Futureheart looked back up at his past self.

"Paradise Valley may be peaceful but it does have diseases we don't have up here in the Kingdom of Caring, so cubs can't go there until they turn 11, after Take Care gives them all their vaccines and gives them time to adapt safely." Tenderheart smirked, picking up on Futureheart's surprise even before his expression changed. Psionic training was paying off.

"But still, why can't he be more responsible about this, or at least take someone else as protection." Futureheart was still tense.

Tenderheart picked up some food with his fork, "Then just follow them. Let them go, wait about ten minutes and we can send you in after them and just keep your distance until something happens."

"Huh, I'm having an off day if I need to talk to myself to get advice," Futureheart sank into his chair.

"Learning from your past is one way to avoid mistakes," Tenderheart chuckled, "and if all this works out your future will be better too."

"My future doesn't exist." Futureheart whispered.

Tenderheart paused with a fork halfway to this mouth, "What? You mean you can't go back?"

Futureheart shook his head, "No, not enough psychonite but even if I had then the future I came from is gone. Time travel doesn't really exist, not in the way people think it does. What Bright Heart's device did was cut me off from the space time continuum then rewind all of time. Every moment from the point I arrived onwards ceased to exist the moment I re-entered time. I and everything I brought back with me are temporal leftovers that have been absorbed into the present time as is. I have no future to return to." Futureheart stood up turned to leave. Tenderheart just watched him go then turned back to his food.

Futureheart paused for a moment before he left, "One more thing: get everyone into the control room to watch what happens in Paradise Valley today."

OoOoO

Mira had bounced back from her mission rather quickly thanks to her parents. With her recent promotion to active duty and her willingness to call for backup instead of trying to just be a hero, Mira was trusted to wander the Kingdom of Caring relatively alone, or with her friends. She and Marina arrived at Flair's house each bearing a gift for their now 11-year old friend.

"Happy birthday!" Both girls called as they opened the front door.

"Mira! Marina!" Flair jumped up from the game he was playing, not even bothering to pause, and ran over to them to give them a hug, almost crushing his gifts as he did so.

The sudden sound of crashing from the TV made Flair turn around to see the screen going grayscale to indicate his character just died. He chuckled. "Oops."

"Well we're here now, so game later." Marina gave him a light punch on the arm as they moved to sit down on the couch.

Flair only had the two gifts, with the visit to Paradise Valley being his parents' gift to him. Mira got him a CD from one of his favorite artists on earth and Marina got him another racing game for his console, a favorite genre of his.

Anger Heart and Guidance Heart just sat to the side and watched their son playing with his friends. Times like these were why they loved being parents: just watching their son have fun.

"Think you'll ever want another kid?" Anger Heart asked.

Guidance smirked, "Maybe, but not right now. Maybe when we can think of another name."

Anger Heart chuckled, "Yeah, kid names are hard."

It was the mid afternoon before Mira and Marine decided to go home. As soon as they were out the door, Anger and Guidance got up.

"Alright, are you ready for your trip to Paradise?" Anger Heart asked.

Flair was literally bouncing with excitement, "Yes yes yes yes yes!"

"Alright, let's go then." Guidance took her son's hand.

"Don't forget these," Anger Heart grabbed three caring crystal pendants from a bowl on the counter. "They don't speak English down there."

"Ok," Flair grabbed the necklace with the translation spell imbedded in it and slipped it around his neck, just like his parents. Guidance and Anger each took one of their son's hands and they headed for the Hall of Hearts.

Flair could hardly keep still as they stepped on the Rainbow Rescue Beam platform and Bright Heart sent them on their way. Flair shivered and smoothed down his face fur as soon as they rematerialized. "Wow, that tingles!"

"You'll get used to it," Guidance Heart giggled.

"The village is this way," Anger Heart pointed and almost immediately Flair took off, shortly followed by his parents.

Ten minutes later, a second rainbow beam appeared and Futureheart Bear materialized. "I won't let them die." He set off towards the village.

Big Mama Tantan was there to greet the three. "Welcome, little Flair. Your parents told me you were coming to visit for your 11th birthday. So what do you want to see?"

"Everything!" Flair wagged his striped tail as though he were a dog.

Big Mama Tantan laughed, "I don't think you can do everything down here in one day, but we'll see what we can fit in."

"Just have fun, Flair, we'll be nearby," Guidance Heart waved as some of the children came over to show Flair Heart around.

"Don't worry, he'll be safe," Good Luck Bear had arrived with his wife, Polite Panda and her twin brother Perfect Panda.

"I know, but we can't help but worry. We're his parents," Anger Heart chuckled.

Polite smiled and carefully rubbed her swollen middle, "We'll be parents soon too."

"If you need any advice we're willing to help," Guidance offered.

"I could use some advice too," Perfect said.

Futureheart had taken up a vigil a fair distance away, on top of one of the hills near the edge of the village. He couldn't be easily seen if sitting down but he could jump into action at a moment's notice if needed. He pawed at the hilt of his huge psychonite infused sword where it stuck over his back. Things would end today one way or the other.

The sound of the Rainbow Rescue Beam drew Futureheart's attention for a moment and he saw Tenderheart appear at the target site. Of course he was here, he had been here the first time this happened. Futureheart tensed, was the future unchanging after all?

Tenderheart waved to the other Care Bears as he approached, "Hello everyone!"

Guidance Heart turned to face him in surprise, "Tenderheart, why are you here?"

Anger Heart tensed slightly, "Are you checking up on me at your own request?"

Tenderheart just smiled and shook his head, "No, I just decided I needed a short break and to deliver a message to Perfect from Proud Heart. She would have come herself but she'd a bit scared to use the Rescue Beam this close to her due date." Tenderheart fished the written note out of his tummy symbol and handed it to Perfect.

Perfect Panda didn't speak until he had finished reading. "Proud Heart says she wants to move down here? But I thought we decided to live in the Kingdom of Caring."

"She's nervous about forcing you to leave your home. Isn't that how you felt and why you said you wanted to move up with us?" Tenderheart took Perfect to sit on a large rock nearby.

"Well… yes," Perfect admitted.

"Love-a-Lot's been talking to Proud Heart a lot lately, and to me too," Tenderheart chuckled, "Married to a bear like her I can't help but be involved in her business of love, especially when she keeps bringing her counselling into our house."

"I see…" Perfect twiddled his fingers together.

Tenderheart leaned a bit closer, "Answer me honestly: if it were entirely your decision: where would you want to live?"

Perfect sat in thought for a long time before he finally answered, "I want to live in the valley. It's my home and I don't want to leave it. But Proud Heart said…"

"She said she wants to be with you, no matter where that is," Tenderheart said. "And thanks to Star Fox the Rainbow Rescue Beam can take you home to visit anytime."

"But what about the valley?!" Perfect's voice became alarmed, "Once Proud and our children are bound here we won't be able to leave for an extended time. I don't want to trap her here like the rest of us."

"You'll work it out," Tenderheart touched Perfect's hand, "Don't worry about it now, just enjoy the time you have together. Besides," he smirked, "Proud Heart already packed her essentials, mostly just all the seeds she wants to bring down to plant her new garden down here and a few keepsakes and blankets. She spent ages with Bright Heart to make sure she won't bring down anything harmful and she's not going to let that go to waste. She'll be here before the week's out."

Perfect smiled, "I know now more than ever why I love her. But…" his smile faded, "my home is just for me and maybe her, I didn't enlarge it for a family because I thought we'd be living up in the Kingdom of Caring, I don't have time to make it big enough for all four of us."

"I'll ask Sage Heart to help, he's a geokineticist (he can control and reshape earth and stone) so I'm sure he can make an ideal space for the four of you."

The day wore on and seemingly nothing happened. Flair Heart was getting tired from playing with the other village children then washing off in the river with some of the soap Big Mama Tantan gave him before he trudged back over to his parents.

"Ready to go home?" Anger Heart asked.

"No, just need to rest," Flair Heart smiled then hugged his parents, "thank you."

"No problem," Guidance smiled down at him.

Futureheart was watching the sky when he finally saw it: a small dot growing larger and larger as a whistling noise grew in volume with it. He stood up and charged towards the village, hand on his sword hilt ready to draw as his own past played out in front of him. "I won't let it happen again!"

Everyone turned to look upwards as a whistling noise cut through the air. Members of the tribe scattered as a large metal sphere fell from the sky and smashed the largest hut in the village of Paradise Valley. People fled in every direction except for Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and their son, Flair Heart.

"What the hell is that thing?" Anger Heart placed himself protectively in front of his wife and son.

"Stay back, you don't know what it will try." Perfect Panda, a panda Care Bear with a star shaped ribbon for a tummy symbol, called from where he stood with his twin sister, Polite Panda whose symbol was a rose and was heavily pregnant, and her husband Good Luck Bear, a green Care Bear with a four-leafed clover for a tummy symbol.

Tenderheart Bear approached the sphere for a moment, then a sudden feeling of unease gripped him and he turned and ran, "GET AWAY!" His shout came too late as a metal plate shot off the pod and an eerie laughter spread out from the pod, laughter that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

A moment later a figure jumped out of the orb and landed on the ground between the Care Bears and the pod. It looked like a birthday clown with a sinister grin plastered on its face as it stared down the family members present. "Welcome, Care Bears. I was hoping for a bigger audience for my debut, but I suppose a small venue will have to do."

"Who are you?!" Anger Heart demanded, he was breathing hard as he felt his temper rising.

"What, you didn't see the posters? Well then I suppose you can call me Bozo, or by my real name the PRANK! Curtesy of Quentin Industries and Dr. Fright." The Prank made and elaborate bow.

On hearing the doctor's name, Guidance Heart panicked and jumped out from behind her husband. She threw up a wall of water then fired a beam of light through it, creating a bright beam of rainbow colored energy that struck The Prank dead on and right through him before the hole sealed up. The Prank recoiled slightly then grinned, "Looks like we have our first volunteer!" The clown jumped up and over to the side of the three and whipped out its arm, which changed into a long tendril that wrapped around Guidance Heart and pulled her next to it, "Any words from the audience?"

"Let her go!" Anger Heart's body erupted into flames then settled down as he heard his son shriek in fear behind him.

"MOM!" Flair Heart was about to run forwards, but Anger Heart caught him and held him back.

"Sorry, that's not on the program tonight," The Prank tightened its grip around Guidance Heart's neck, "But I do have something that will do, this momma has a baby and her head popped-"

"YAAA!" Futureheart leapt through the air and sliced off the limb holding Guidance Heart, grabbing her as the tendril fell away and swinging his sword at The Prank one handed, the energy slicing it in half and knocking it a few meters away. As the tendril on the ground slithered back to rejoin The Prank's body and it began to reassemble itself, its previously sinister face became passive and unemotional as it watched Futureheart.

Guidance Heart was rubbing her neck as Futureheart set her down. Flair ran over to her in an instant, "Mom! Are you alright?"

"Yes, for now," she fell to her knees, the shock of her near decapitation and rescue overriding the sense of danger.

Anger Heart was about to run over to his wife when Futureheart caught him. "Anger Heart, listen to me."

Anger Heart couldn't even get two words out, "But Gui-"

"Stop holding back!" Futureheart sheathed the sword on his back then grabbed Anger Heart by both his shoulders. "Guidance Heart almost died right there, I remember seeing her die!" He cast a brief glance over at Tenderheart, who was helping Perfect Panda to stand, "And then you and your son by that thing!" He pointed over his shoulder where the clown was still mostly cut in half. "I told you not to come down here today and you froze when her life was in danger! I don't remember much about your power but I know you barely tried to destroy the first nanomorph. Why are you holding back?"

"Because I don't want to lose control!" Anger Heart shouted, "If I lose control I might burn up everything and everyone I care about! I can feel the power growing inside me even when I don't use magic!" Anger Heart hugged himself and started to shake, "I know I have so little time left and I just want to spend it with them and keep them safe."

"Then let it out at The Prank, burn it up and destroy it so they have a future," Futureheart relaxed, "I know you're scared, I can feel it, but you need to let go. Now get fired up and help me destroy-"

_SHNK! SHNK! SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!_

Futureheart froze then stared down at the five spikes protruding from his chest, torso and stomach, feeling his sword snap in half on his back and fall out of its holster to the ground. The now reformed Prank retracted its five spiked tendrils out of Futureheart which caused him to fall to his back, blood pooling under him from the now open wounds.

"TARGET ELIMINATED. RETURNING TO NORMAL OPERATION." The Prank shook its head and grinned, its robotic voice becoming creepily jovial, "Ooooh that order was a head trip! Just give me a moment, once I can move I'll get back to killing everyone!"

Anger Heart stared at Futureheart's body and felt a spark inside his chest. His lips curled back as he grit his teeth, his eyes furrowing in rage as he clenched his fists as a raging inferno blazed out of control. He threw back his head and let out a cry of rage.

"**E****E****E****E****E****E****E****E****RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**

Blue fire erupted around Anger Heart as his tail split into eight! The snow at the edges of the valley melted and receded

Good Luck and Polite stopped fleeing back home and turned to stare.

Tenderheart looked up and gaped at what he saw, as did Perfect.

The villagers all felt the rush of heat emanating from the fox and most shielded their faces.

Up in the Hall of Hearts control room, all the Bears, Cousins, Magi and Star Fox team members assembled could just stare at the screen focused on Anger Heart.

Flair Heart looked up from where he had been holding onto his mother since The Prank attacked Future. "Dad?"

Guidance Heart looked up and stared, wide-eyed, at her husband. "Anger Heart…"

(insert picture of Anger Heart Kyuubi)

The flames around Anger Heart had turned pure white as had all of his fur other than his tummy symbol and he now had nine tails that were more than twice as long as they had been before, all dancing upright around him.

The Prank had forgotten it could move its limbs again and just stood rooted to the spot as it stared at the now nine-tailed fox.

Tears streaked down Anger Heart's face and he raised an arm up to wipe them away then closed his lips and set his jaw as he stared down The Prank.

As Futureheart's life ebbed away, he caught his last glimpse of the world, seeing Anger Heart stand there as a full, white Kyuubi and managed a smile and one last word before darkness overtook him.

"The future, has changed…"


	21. Rain

Chapter 21: Rain

The Prank just stood staring at the now nine-tailed, white-furred Anger Heart, whose eyes seemed to blaze with anger one could only conceive of in their deepest pits of imagination. The Prank merely put on it's demented smile again and began to approach.

"Oh what's this? A wittle foxy flower with nine long petals." It stretched its arm forwards, "I know, let's play a game! She loves me…" the instant The Prank grabbed one of Anger Heart's tails, the white fire surrounding him pounced on the limb, and melted it into vapor in an instant. The Prank screamed and pulled its arm back, screaming. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Anger Heart's face didn't crack as he stared down The Prank, the white fire still dancing around him, "Careful. Grab a kitsune's tail and you'll be cursed."

"IT HURTS! WHY DOES IT HURT?! I CAN'T FEEL PAIN?!" The Prank managed to reform it's arm and turned to Anger Heart, who had begun advancing on it. "Stay back!" It shot out its arm oscillating back and forth and snatched Flair Heart away from his mother.

"HELP!" Flair was torn away from Guidance as The Prank's arm turned into a large vicious claw that squeezed Flair its grasp as the rest of its body turned into what looked like a lobster but retained the clown's head.

"FLAIR!" Guidance's legs refused to work as panic and fear spread through her.

"Come one step closer, little fox, and I'll snap your son in half." The Prank laughed, "I might do it anyway just for kicks!"

"Put my son down, now." Anger Heart didn't raise his voice but the fury behind it was unmistakable.

"Or you'll do what?" The Prank taunted him.

Anger Heart shot out his left hand and sent a stream of white fire right at the claw that held Flair in it's grasp.

Everyone watched in horror as the flames washed over the pick raccoon and instantly vaporised the claw holding him.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Prank's body turned into a pile of red sludge with a clown's head as it pulled away from the flames, violently blowing on the portion where claw had been attacked. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!? WHY CAN I FEEL THE PAIN?! DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR OWN…son…?"

Flair Heart hand landed on the ground, engulfed in white fire but wasn't crying in pain, in fact he looked calm and almost relaxed as he stood up. Anger Heart approached his son and crouched in front of him, "Are you alright, Flair? How do you feel?"

"It's like you're hugging me all over," Flair held himself then looked up at Anger Heart, "What happened? Why aren't I burned?"

"Because I could never and would never hurt you," Anger Heart hugged him, "My white fire will keep you safe from him."

"It's like a ghost. Ghost fire!" Flair smiled.

Anger Heart couldn't resist a chuckle, "You're right. Now go to your mother and don't worry, you won't burn anything except that thing." He let his son go, who immediately ran over to Guidance, and stood up. The white kyuubi's face hardened again as he slowly walked towards The Prank as it formed itself back into its birthday clown form, except it was missing its right arm.

"How!? How can you burn me?! How can I feel pain?!" The Prank began to back away, why was it scared? It couldn't feel fear, why would it? It was the master of fear and terror but every step the nine-tailed fox took towards it made it feel like an icy claw was wrapped around it from the inside.

"I told you, you grabbed my tail and now you're cursed to feel pain." Anger Heart paused and stared down at his hands, "I can't believe I was afraid for so long, afraid I'd lose control when now." He clenched his fists, "I feel completely in control." He looked up at The Prank, "My fire only burns what I want it to burn and now, I'm going to burn you to cinders!" He shot out his right arm and a white fireball streaked over the plains and incinerated The Prank's remaining arm. The Prank's cries of pain were interrupted as another white fireball vaporised one of its legs, the lingering heat causing it to collapse into a puddle of goo, its clown face melting like bad makeup splashed with soapy water.

"No! Stay away!" A spike shot out of The Prank's amorphous mass, only to vaporise on contact with the white fire aura that surrounded Anger Heart.

"I heard everyone in the future was afraid of you, that if they knew you were around they would turn and flee for their lives." Anger Heart stopped adjacent to The Prank as it tried vainly to squelch away on half formed stumps it created under itself. "But no one will ever fear you again!" fire sprang up in both of Anger Heart's hands and he shot them both forwards with a shout of rage. White fire overwhelmed the Prank, muffling its final cry of pain under it's own dissolving body. Anger Heart poured on the fire until every last atom of the amorphous was gone, and didn't even scorch the ground underneath where it had been.

A small camera sticking out of a ball of ice with a helicopter blade on top hovered nearby, capturing the entire event unfold before them.

"NOOOOOO!" Quenos' scream of rage and despair made the entire hideout cavern shake. "My greatest creation! My masterpiece destroyed by one fox!" He rounded on and pointed aggressively at Mental Heart, "This was your fault! All your fault! If you didn't force me to plant that order into its mind it would have killed them all!"

Mental Heart was stunned but regained his composure, "I had no idea the fox had that kind of potential."

"A Kyuubi, the mythical nine-tailed fox of Japanese legend," No-Heart sat back on his throne and just glared at the screen, his magic letting him see everything in detail even at this distance, "I never paid attention to that fox before. Now his power will pose a problem."

"You did this!" Quenos grabbed Mental Heart's shoulder, "You destroyed my greatest creation! I'll kill you!"

Mental Heart didn't react as Quenos began chanting a spell, only for a blast of lightning to send him flying away from Mental Heart.

No-Heart sat back down on his throne as pain coursed through his body. "Do not presume to harm my servants, brother, even I did not foresee this." He growled, "Though it pains me to say so, we shall cease all attacks until we are prepared to deal with this new threat. Mental Heart will be the only one to leave here and only at my request."

"Of course, Lord No-Heart." Mental Heart turned to where Quenos lay, gibbering about The Prank's destruction, "What about him?"

"Leave him for now, he's not important." No-Heart sat back, "I need to find a way off this crystal throne."

OoOoO

Anger Heart stared at the spot where The Prank had been, as if expecting the creature to return. Finally, he sighed then took a deep breath and turned to walk towards Guidance and Flair. As he walked towards them, red spots appeared all over his fur and began to spread.

"Anger Heart? Are you alright?" Guidance Heart stood up, staring at him as the red spread across his fur.

Anger Heart stopped in front of Guidance Heart and looked down as his fur returned to its original fiery red coloration. "Good, it worked. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life as a white fox, ugg." He shook his head then smiled at her.

"Oh Anger Heart!" Guidance Heart threw herself at Anger Heart in a tight hug, "You're alive, and still you!"

Anger Heart smiled down at her, "I am, I was worried too but I guess I was worried about nothing." He pulled her closer and they kissed, Anger Heart's long red tails wrapping around both of them.

"So big, and fluffy," Flair walked up to his parents and touched one of his father's tails, the white fire around his body seemingly being absorbed into it.

Guidance broke her kiss, "Careful, your dad's tails can curse someone." She cautioned.

Anger Heart gave a short laugh, "Only if I don't like them, go ahead Flair."

Flair Heart grabbed one of his tails and snuggled against it, "So soft."

"I hate to break this up, but we have a casualty." Tenderheart's voice drew their attention towards Futureheart's body. The sword he had carried lay broken in half on the ground and his blood was soaking into the ground around him. Futureheart was cold, his eyes shut and he was smiling.

Anger Heart walked over to Futureheart, his tails billowing out behind him like red streamers, then knelt at his side, "I'm sorry I didn't listen. Thank you, for everything." He carefully picked him up, not caring at the blood that was staining his fur. "We should go," He turned to Flair, "Sorry this had to ruin your day."

"It's ok, dad, thank you." Flair had suddenly realized the weight of the situation and followed his parents back to the Rainbow Rescue Beam out location. Tenderheart stopped to grab the two broken halves of the sword before he followed.

OoOoO

Take Care hated to do it, but she checked Futureheart's body and pronounced him dead within an hour. Even if she didn't need the extensive tests she still did them to be sure, she was a professional and she cleaned up the body as best as she could for the burial.

A few days later, Futureheart's funeral was held next to Flash Heart and Lily's graves. Everyone was there except Good Luck and the Pandas, as they lay the visitor from the future to rest. Even those who hadn't gotten to know Futureheart too well couldn't help but cry. Tenderheart seemed to be shaken the worst, staring at the body of his future self in the simple wooden coffin Anger Heart had build for him felt to surreal for him to really process.

The headstone read:

FUTUREHEART BEAR

HE WHO GAVE UP HIS PAST

TO SAVE OUR FUTURE

No one knew what to say, there were words but it felt like too much, for the bear who had sacrificed everything he knew to come back and save them. Eventually, Anger Heart stepped forwards and began to sing, his magic creating the music he needed to accompany him. And then it started to rain as Independent Bear telekinetically lowered the coffin into the grave.

(Rain, original artist SID, alternate lyrics by Radiatasquire and Shadowlink4321 watch?v=rmGj8wBnDJs )

"_I see in front of my eyes,_

_All of these truth's and all these lies_

_As their colors go and fade away_

_Although you're close to me_

_And your warmth covers me,_

_I can't keep these wandering thoughts at bay._

_You told me to go onward_

_And said my path will not be blurred_

_As you turn away and say good-bye_

_Those words of empathy_

_Do not encourage me_

_And I cannot help but break down and cry._

_All of these memories, ringing endlessly inside my mind,_

_Have no intentions of forgiving me yet._

_If I close my eyes, they only grow and start surrounding me._

_These memories that I can't forget..._

_The rain falls, I wonder if it will ever end?_

_It's so cold, straining my body for quite some time._

_The rain falls on me, and it is striking down upon my face._

_Why does it choose me, who has nowhere to escape?_

_Though this untainted morning,_

_that I have finally reached to_

_is entangled by the past I knew._

_Instead of moving on, towards my own future_

_I was stuck in my own remorseful past._

_And though you tried to help_

_And tried to motivate me to keep on_

_All my fears of losing my way just made me weak._

_Walking around blindly, I think its time for my own teardrops_

_to fall down my conflicted cheek._

_I don't want my eyes to know about those past days_

_I'll just wait till the rain starts to wash it away_

_All my wounds of my past start to heal at a gentle pace_

_I've finally found the end of my road today._

_The rain falls, I wonder if it will ever end?_

_It's so cold, straining my body for quite some time._

_The rain falls on me, but I wonder could it maybe,_

_embrace me tightly, hide all my pain?_

_The rain falls, I wonder if it knows how to stop?_

_But today, it falls without resolution._

_You held out your hand holding an umbrella over my head._

_You nestled with me, warming me with all your hope."_

A few umbrellas conjured form tummy symbols helped shield everyone from the rain as Indy finished and Sage Heart magically moved the removed dirt aside to fill in the grave and everyone dispersed to go home.

Anger Heart merely used his nine long tails to cover his family from the rain as they went home. As they stepped inside, his tails began to shrink and merge until he only had the one normal length tail again.

Guidance paused as she saw this happen, "Anger, I thought you weren't afraid or ashamed anymore."

"I'm not," Anger Heart looked back at his tail, "but that thing I kept telling everyone about a bunch of tails being difficult to move around or even sit with: that wasn't a lie, just an easier confession about why I kept them like this. Unless you want me knocking over everything in the house," he gave a weak smile and wagged his one tail, "Besides, this is much easier now since I'm not holding back my power. But let me get supper started."

"OK," Guidance kissed him then let him go about the business of supper.

OoOoO

Indy had used a psionic umbrella to keep him, Take Care, Get Well and Cautious Heart to Take Care's hospital without getting wet, other than their feet from the wet clouds. Both Get Well and Cautious were worn out and went to their rooms, either to sleep, read or just try to relax on their heartphones.

Take Care made hot chocolate for herself and Indy and they sat across from each other at her kitchen table. The only noise was the sound of the rain cascading off their roof and the occasional sip from their mugs.

Take Care looked up from her mug to see Independent Bear staring at his reflection in his mug, "Hey, Indy?"

Indy looked up, "Yeah?"

There was a long pause as Take Care was trying to choose her words carefully or not quite sure what to say, or if she should even say it. She didn't believe in the notion that the male had to be the one to ask these things... but she wasn't sure if he was ready for this step. She wasn't even sure if she was ready. Was this too much, too soon? Logically, yes. It was. She almost stopped and told him 'never mind.' But then she decided 'what the heck' and she asked him anyway.

"Do you want to get married?"

She probably could have worded that better, but it was out there now. "I mean… I know we haven't been together long. And if it's too soon, that's fine."

"Yes!"

Take Care blinked and watched Indy stand up and walk around the table to her, "I want to marry you Take Care," he gently took her hand, "I don't think it's too soon."

Take Care was stunned for a moment, then she smiled and clasped his hand, stood up and smiled, "Really?"

"Really," Indy nodded. "We can keep it small, just our closest friends and family."

"I can ask Noble Heart to perform the ceremony, we just need to keep Love-a-Lot from finding out." Take Care shuddered for a moment.

Indy chuckled, "Don't worry, I promise she won't."

OoOoO

It only took a couple days to arrange things and Noble Heart was only too happy to perform the ceremony for Indy and Take Care. They stood in Noble Heart's living room, neither having bothered to dress up. Love Heart, Confidence Heart, Miracle Heart and Shimmering Star sat on one couch and Bright Heart, Gentle Heart (who was still pregnant), Get Well and Cautious Heart on the other side of the room on a loveseat. True Heart was visiting Grams Bear for the day.

Noble Heart stood in front of the two who were facing each other and holding both of each other's hands as he spoke. "Everyone, we're here today to witness the joining of Take Care Bear and Independent Bear together in marriage. I know you don't want this dragged out so I'll let you two say your vows."

Indy nodded, "Take Care, I didn't know we'd come this far when we first met. I was just a loner who was afraid of his own abilities who liked to disappear to read. As I got to know you, you helped me open up to you and be more comfortable with who I am. You said you thought this might be too soon for us but we've been together longer than we realize, years of just spending time with each other, learning to be comfortable with each other's odd habits, quirks and responsibilities. I don't know if the world's going to end soon or go on forever, but no matter how much or little time we have left, I want to spend it with you." Indy was actually tearing up as he spoke but he held it together.

Take Care smiled, "I love you, Indy and I want to be with you. I've known that deep down for a long time. It thrills me and scares the heck out of me at the same time too. I'm not the easiest person to live with... but my quirks and stubbornness don't seem to faze you. You love me in spite of it, maybe because of it. I don't really know. You're right... whatever time we have, I want to spend it with you."

Noble Heart had to wipe his eyes as he continued the ceremony. "Independent Bear, do you take Take Care Bear as your wife for the rest of your lives, no matter what is to come?"

"I do." Indy said.

"Alright, Take Care Bear, do you take Independent Bear as your husband for the rest of your lives, no matter what is to come?"

"I do." Take Care said.

"Good, now," Noble Heart held out his hands, each containing a silver wedding band that he presented to each of them. First Take Care then Indy took a ring apiece and slipped it on to the other's hand. "I now pronounce you married."

Take Care and Indy didn't need any encouragement as they embraced and kissed, to the small applause of their close friends and family seated there.

Noble Heart couldn't help but leak tears of joy, "I never thought I'd see this day," he whispered.

Before they left, Love Heart took Indy aside briefly and handed him a long package that was crudely wrapped. "Here, you should have this. I was going to give it to you anyway but might as well call it a weeding present."

Indy took the package and easily tore off the wrapping, revealing a sheathed katana. Indy drew the sword and saw it had a black blade with a silver edge and five small blue gems set along the middle length of the blade. "I can sense energy flowing from it. What is this?"

"Tenderheart brought Futureheart's sword back with him and Slippy studied the alloy. I asked them to use the material and psychonite fragments to forge this katana for you. It's the same style as Futureheart's, other than shape and the psychonite will amplify any psionic energy you pour into it while the durabilum increased the weight and the laminate titanium will project the energy across the blade to increase the power it projects from you." Love Heart's face hardened for a moment, "I know this is a bit much, but Futureheart would want us to have every advantage in this coming fight."

Indy sheathed the katana and held it at his side, "Thank you," He glanced over his shoulder at where Take Care was talking to Bright Heart and Gentle Heart, "I have even more reason to want to help protect everyone with this now."

Bright Heart showed a contraption that looked like an elaborate coffee machine. "I was going to give this to you for Christmas, but I finished it early so here. It's a hot chocolate maker." He handed a folded manual to Take Care.

"And here. I didn't make this myself but I think you'll like this." Gentle Heart handed a rather large a bulky, but surprisingly light, package to Take Care.

OoOoO

Later that night, Take Care lay under the new blanket that Gentle Heart had given her for a wedding present. She rolled over and came face-to-face with Indy.

"Are you ok?" Indy asked.

"I am. This is just a bit strange." Take Care admitted.

"Not used to sharing a bed with anyone?"

"No one my own age, but Cautious and Get Well sometimes crawled in here when they were little and were scared by a bad dream, or a thunderstorm, and had to sleep with their mom."

Indy chuckled, "Kids are like that. Love Heart says Mira used to do the same thing." He leaned forwards and gave her a small kiss.

Take Care blushed slightly. "I feel embarrassed, it's ridiculous but I've never been this intimate with someone before." She wrapped her arms around Indy.

Indy did the same, he was blushing too, "I know what you mean, I mean… we're married now, this is our life together…and I couldn't be happier." They pulled each other together and kissed, holding for almost a minute before they stopped.

"I love you, Indy."

"I love you Take Care."

Eventually they fell asleep, snuggled up together under the covers.


	22. Cooldown

A/N: The next few chapters will be rather short because I don't wish to drag out the events in each chapter more than necessary.

Chapter 22: Cooldown

"… and that's pretty much everything," Love Heart sighed and sat back against the couch in Pegasus Fall's royal caves, "Sorry you've been out of the loop so long, Fauna."

"No problem, sounds like a lot of crazy stuff. I mean, Anger Heart's a nine-tails now?" Fauna was lounging on the other end of the couch in her human form. "Honestly I'm kinda happy I didn't get caught up in that yet. So how's being a stay-a-home dad treating you?"

Love Heart smiled, "It's nice not having to go on missions, especially since the bad guys seem to be waiting on us. I'll try to keep you updated about things." Love Heart got up and stretched, "I'm gonna go say hi to Red Snout before I go, and get your brother to come home. Isn't he supposed to be working with White Fang?"

Fauna rolled her eyes, "Yeah but he's become fascinated with space ever since Star Fox showed up."

"I noticed," Love Heart headed towards the cave entrance, "See ya later, Fauna."

OoOoO

Renegade Whitewolf and his mate Nova the Unicorn shifted and transformed into their human forms as they walked up the boarding ramp of the Great Fox.

"So this ship can travel through space," Renegade touched one of the internal bulkheads.

"Yeah, it's weird thinking about the world beyond this planet," Nova shook her head. "But it's exciting."

Renegade smirked, "Thinking about travelling the stars someday?"

"Maaaaybe," Nova gave Renegade a kiss.

"Umm hello, who are you?" Peppy Hare was walking towards the boarding ramp from inside the ship. He stopped to look at the couple.

They broke off the kiss and turned to the grey hare. "Sorry. My name is Renegade Whitewolf, Shaman of Pegasus Falls."

"And I'm his mate, Nova. I'm a Unicorn." Nova said.

"I heard about you and your ability to shapeshift." Peppy nodded, "If you want a tour you can ask Slippy," He pointed to the green frog who was going over maintenance reports, "just don't touch anything without permission. I have to deliver this to Tenderheart." He showed them a datapad then hurried off down the ramp and towards Care-a-Lot.

Slippy looked up when he saw the two seeming humans approach him.

Nova was the first to speak, "Can you show us around?"

"In a minute. I need to finish my report on this alloy." It didn't take long for Slippy to finish. "Alright, let me show you around…"

OoOoO

"Here's the psionic test results," Peppy handed the datapad to Tenderheart, who was currently seated at the table in the leaders' office.

"Hmm? Ok thanks," Tenderheart took the pad but didn't look at it.

"Is something wrong?" Peppy sat down across from him.

"Just… most people don't get to see their own dead body. I'm a bit rattle right now," Tenderheart sat back in his chair.

"Well then, I'll just summarise the most interesting test results." Peppy cleared his throat, "There's only three stand-outs other than yourself, Major Independent Bear and Soulful Heart Fox: Champ Bear and Bright Heart Raccoon have minor psionic abilities, dormant but if they train they could unlock some level of power. The greater surprise is from the young Aqua Bear. He has psionic potential equal to yours thought currently dormant."

"Really?" Tenderheart finally looked at the datapad, "Potential for telepathy, most specifically mind reading. Sounds like what Futureheart was close to doing."

"Futureheart's psionic training was stalled because he was fighting against Andross," Peppy said, "I would like to bring Aqua Bear into the same psionic training program you and Soulful are in."

"Sounds good to me, what about Champ and Bright Heart?" Tenderheart asked.

"You can inform them and they can choose for themselves, but I think Aqua's potential has the best chance to make a change in our future." Peppy said.

"Alright, I'll tell Aqua as soon as possible." Tenderheart set the datapad aside, "Just, let me rest for a while and I'll get on it."

"Don't stress too much." Peppy stood up, "We're all doing out part here."

"I'll try."


	23. Baby Boom, True Heart and Noble Heart

Chapter 23: Baby Boom, True Heart and Noble Heart

True Heart lay outside on the grassy hill that overlooked the landing site of the Great Fox, white and yellow flowers tucked into the base of her long wavy pink and purple hair that spread out underneath and around her and her hands on her massive belly as the breeze tickled her and the sun warmed her fur.

She looked up when she heard hoof steps and saw Noble Heart approach her with his guitar in hand. His long blue and green hair waving behind him in the slight breeze.

"Here to serenade me again?" True Heart giggled.

Noble Heart chuckled and sat down next to her, "As much as I can until they arrive," he touched True Heart's swollen middle, "Not much longer now, but I promise they will get all the love and attention they deserve."

"And this time from their parents," True Heart sighed and fiddled with the radiant heart crystal that always hung around her neck, "I still wish we could have been here for Hugs and Tugs."

"At least Grams was, but don't waste time regretting." Noble Heart did one last tune of his guitar before he began his songs.

(Songs chosen by ThisCrispyKat and Dragonstrider)

watch?v=TImNRqTkd7Q

"_Take another sip my love and see what you will see,  
A fleet of golden galleons, on a crystal sea.  
Are you sitting comfortably?  
Let Merlin cast his spell._

_Ride along the winds of time and see where we have been,  
The glorious age of Camelot, when Guinevere was Queen.  
It all unfolds before your eyes  
As Merlin casts his spell._

_The seven wonders of the world he'll lay before your feet,  
In far-off lands, on distant shores, so many friends to meet.  
Are you sitting comfortably?  
Let Merlin cast his spell."_

"_When the white eagle of the North is flying overhead  
The browns, reds and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead.  
Remember then, that summer birds with wings of fire flaying  
Came to witness springs new hope, born of leaves decaying.  
Just as new life will come from death, love will come at leisure.  
Love of love, love of life and giving without measure  
Gives in return a wondrous yearn of a promise almost seen.  
Live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand on the threshold of a dream."_

"_Now you know that you are real  
Show your friends that you and me  
Belong to the same world  
Turned on to the same word  
Have you heard?_

_Now you know that you are free  
Living all your life at ease  
Each day has its always  
A look down life's hallways, doorways  
To lead you there"_

"_Now you know how nice it feels,  
Scatter good seed in the fields.  
Life's ours for the making,  
Eternity's waiting, waiting,  
For you and me._

_Now you know that you are real,  
Show your friends that you and me_

_Belong to the same world,  
Turned on to the same word,  
Have you heard?  
Have you heard?  
Have you heard?  
Have you heard?  
Have you heard?"_

"_Won't you take me back to school  
I need to learn the golden rule  
Won't you lay it on the line  
I need to hear it just one more time  
Oh won't you tell me again  
Can you feel it  
Won't you tell me again  
Tonight  
Each and every heart it seems  
Is bounded by a world of dreams  
Each and every rising sun  
Is greeted by a lonely one  
'Cos out on the ocean of life my love  
There's so many storms we must rise above  
Can you hear the spirit calling  
As it's carried across the waves  
You're already falling  
It's calling you back to face the music  
And the song that is coming through  
You're already falling  
The one that it's calling is you  
Make a promise take a vow  
And trust your feelings it's easy now  
Understand the voice within  
And feel the changes already beginning  
And how many words have I got to say  
And how many times will it be this way  
With your arms around the future  
And your back up against the past  
You're already falling it's calling you  
On to face the musicand the song that is coming through  
You're already falling  
The one that it's calling is you  
Each and every heart it seems  
Is bounded by a world of dreams  
Each and every rising sun  
Is greeted by a lonely lonely one"_

True Heart nearly drifted off as she listened to her husband's soothing voice and music, until she felt a contraction hit her. Noble Heart hadn't noticed her wince or jolt awake but she didn't interrupt him, it would be at least a few hours before the twins were born so she waited until Noble Heart finished before she spoke. "Noble Heart, I think it's time. Ow!" she winced as she felt another contraction hit.

"What?!" Noble Heart seemed to go into instant 'new dad panic mode' as he left his guitar on the ground then helped True Heart to her feet. "Let's get to Take Care's now!"

"We still have time, don't leave your guitar behind." Once she was standing, True Heart planted her feet until Noble Heart retrieved his instrument, then they set off towards Take Care's office.

OoOoO

Take Care Bear had been expecting this any day now, True Heart being the first of the expectant mothers to go into labor was just the luck of the draw.

"Alright, True Heart just relax and breathe." Take Care was dressed in the doctor's scrubs as she checked True Heart's progress. "Dad, stop pacing," she turned to Noble Heart who was indeed pacing around the room.

"I can't help it, I'm excited and nervous," Noble Heart stopped.

"Just take my hand, Noble Heart," True Heart looked up at her husband, and he obliged. "I just want you here by my side."

"Just don't hold her hand too long," Get Well turned to Noble Heart, "Dads have been known to get broken bones from a contraction death grip."

Noble Heart gulped but didn't let go. "I can handle it."

Outside the hospital, Indy and Cautious Heart were running crowd control. It was sort of an instinctual tradition that every time a new Care Bear or Cousin or Magi was born that everyone felt they needed to be there for the parents, even if they had jobs to do. It was cute and heartwarming the first couple times but now, especially with so many more to come in the near future, Take Care was starting to get annoyed. Indy had taken the initiative to ward them off, asking that unless they were actually injured or sick to just leave and let her do her job while Cautious Heart sat at the reception desk in case there were those who did need help. The only legitimate visits were from Curious Heart Wolf and Pretty Heart Skunk, who got some minor scrapes after a sparring match between Pretty Heart and Mira got out of hand. Teacher Bear was there too to make sure they were alright.

"I understand there's a bit of a baby boom going on right now," Teacher Bear sat in the waiting room with the rest of her adopted children and Cautious Heart at the reception desk. Indy was taking care of the minor injuries as he had better first aid training than Cautious.

Cautious Heart Cat nodded, "Yup. Mom's been getting us ready for this."

"So who are the mothers?" Thorough Heart Weasel asked.

Cautious Heart didn't have to think long to come up with an answer, "Other than True Heart, Cheer's expecting twins and so are Proud Heart and Polite Panda down in Paradise Valley, Cozy Heart laid her eggs a while ago so she's just waiting for them to hatch. Then Love-a-lot and Harmony Bear."

"I guess in a community this small this counts as a baby boom," Passive Heart said.

"There's not even 100 of us, so yeah," Cautious Heart agreed. Once Pretty Heart and Curious were patched up, Indy sent them on their way after diverting Curious Heart from going to the Maternity ward.

Hours passed as True Heart did her best to remain calm. If anything she felt more at-ease now since Take Care was fully certified as a doctor and Get Well was here too, not to mention she felt stronger than she had last time, even as another contraction hit.

"Alright, True Heart, you're ready, push!" Take Care all but ordered. True Heart didn't need to be told twice and she started to push. Noble Heart still held True Heart's hand, wincing as she gave her vice-grip with each push but thankfully avoiding getting any bones broken.

"I can see the head, True Heart, you're doing great," Take Care said. True Heart obliged putting her all into each push.

"Almost there, one more should do it." Take Care held on as she watched the cub, or rather foal, slide out, catching him as True Heart panted. Get Well was there in an instant to cut the cord as Take Care smacked the foal to get him to cry so he would start using his own lungs then passed him off to Get Well to bathe and clean up.

"OK, True Heart, one down. Can you keep going?" it was a rhetorical question but still True Heart answered.

"Not much, eeeeerrrg! Choice."

"Then keep pushing with each contraction, you're not going to get any readier," Take Care didn't move from her spot beneath True Heart.

"You can do it, True," Noble Heart gave her a brief kiss before the next contraction hit and she started pushing again.

Get Well was relieved that she could at least handle the newborn. She had the cream colored foal with a yellow, blue, teal and golden striped mane and tail bathed and dried off before True Heart had finished and set him in the newborn crib wrapped up as she returned to her mother's side.

"Almost there. One more good push should do it," Take Care said.

"I hope so…" True Heart was sweating hard and she put her all into the last push then finally slumped limp against the bed, smiling when she heard the second set of crying join the first.

"There we go, True Heart. Two beautiful cubs," Noble Heart took True Heart's hand.

"May I…see them?" True Heart panted.

"Here they are," Noble Heart had picked up the cream colored foal, who was a boy while Take Care had just finished cleaning off the pale pink female bear cub who had small tufts of lavender and pale yellow hair on her head and tail.

"They're beautiful," True Heart smiled.

"They are," Get Well was filling out the birth certificates, "Do you have names for them?"

Noble Heart nodded, "The boy is Valiant Heart Horse and the girl is Kind Heart Bear. In fact," Noble Heart carefully took True Heart's hand. As tired a she was, True Heart was able to get her tummy symbol glowing as did Noble Heart. Their stares fired off and merged before they flew around both foals and bestowed their tummy symbols upon them. For Valiant Heart: a blue, teal and yellow kite shield with a gold edge and a gold star at the center, and for Kind Heart: a pastel pink, pale rose and purple heart with a large yellow star at the center with the arms extended past the edges of the heart.

"Hmm?" as Take Care held up Kind Heart to get a better look at her, she saw that instead of a small red heart on her right thigh Kind Heart had a small yellow star on her left thigh. "Look at this dad," Take Care showed both parents the oddity.

"What do you think it means?" Noble Heart asked.

"Maybe… a gift… from the…Great Wishing Star," True Heart lay back, "excuse me… tired." She closed her eyes and was snoozing moments later.

"Alright, let's get the paperwork finished, grandpa," Get Well smirked as she carefully led Noble Heart out of the room. Take Care stuck around just long enough for Noble Heart to return.

Noble Heart was staring at his two newborn cubs sleeping silently then back to True Heart, who was doing the same, with a serious look on his face.

Take Care was about to leave when she saw the serious look on Noble Heart's face, "Dad, is something wrong?"

"No. I've just made a decision, something that's been a long time coming…"

OoOoO

Noble Heart stood at the head of the meeting in the Hall of Hearts, everyone's eyes were on him as he spoke. "Today, I would like to announce that True Heart Bear and I are officially retired as the leaders of the Care Bear Family. From this day forwards, Tenderheart Bear, Brave Heart Lion, Take Care Bear and Love Heart Bear are in charge of every aspect of the Care Bear Family." He held up his hand before anyone could speak, "I know what some of you are thinking, but the truth is we haven't been involved in any major decisions for quite some time, especially regarding the message that Futureheart brought us. I know you all look up to us as the founders who raised most of you and that we're the ones to go to for advice, but I don't think you need to do that anymore. You four have taken command of this new threat against us in ways neither of us could have been prepared for. For now, True Heart and I just want to relax and raise our new children: Valiant Heart Horse and Kind Heart Bear. That doesn't mean we're not going to do anything else, we will still go on caring missions and help when needed but," he chuckled and looked down at himself, "I look younger than most of you these days anyway so don't be afraid to order me around." This elicited some laughter from the assembly. "Thank you all, I know the world's in good hands."

"What about Sage Heart and Life Heart?" The question came from Bright Heart Raccoon.

Sage Heart stood up to answer, "Honestly, we haven't been serving as leaders for the Magi for years. The only reason we don't try to retire from active is because we can still fight and serve as trainers when needed. As far as I'm concerned, Love Heart has been in command since before we returned to the Kingdom of Caring and the way the Magi are organised now we're not taking command anytime toon."

Noble Heart was already heading for the exit as people debated what exactly this meant, but was stopped when he heard two voices right behind him.

"Dad!"

"Wait!"

It was Hugs and Tugs, and right behind them were Contrary Heart Liger, Marina Bear and Patient Heart Liger.

Noble Heart smiled, "Hugs, Tugs, sorry we don't talk much."

"I know, it's just," Hugs sounded nervous so Tugs took over.

"We just wanted to ask if everything is alright with you and mom."

Noble Heart nodded, "Things are fine, and to be honest hearing you call us 'mom and dad' is still odd." He sighed, "But before you ask, yes True and I still feel like we failed to be proper parents to the both of you. I remember you were overjoyed to… meet us, but you stayed with Grams after that so we never felt like proper parents to you both."

"Grams did raise us…" Tug admitted.

"But we're still your kids and you didn't fail us, we just…" Hugs was struggling to find the right words.

"You imprinted on your grandmother because of how much time you spent with her." Pace spoke up, "You see her as the real parental figure in your lives because Noble Heart and True Heart vanished."

"That about sums it up," Noble Heart walked forwards and put a hand on Hugs and Tugs' shoulders, "Never think for an instant that I'm not proud of you both. You're great kids, but we do want to devote the time we have now exclusively to raising Valiant Heart and Kind Heart. We want to be proper parents this time around."

Hugs immediately drew Noble Heart into a hug, "You always were, even if you were distant."

Tugs couldn't resist joining in the group hug, "You're great parents. Now go prove it to yourselves." They let their father go and watched as Noble Heart returned home.

Inside, the four leaders had convened in their private office. Take Care almost never came in here but this was important enough to warrant her presence.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Take Care?" Brave Heart asked.

Take Care shook her head. "He told me yesterday, I already had my talk with him. Not like I could talk him out of it but he's right. The Kingdom of Caring's in good hands."

"Our hands," Tenderheart put his right hand over the desk.

"And our shields," Love Heart placed his right hand over Tenderheart's.

"And our hearts!" Brave Heart did the same then looked to Take Care.

Take Care rolled her eyes but smiled and put her hand, "And our minds." She pulled back a moment later, "Now if you don't mind, I have to get back home. There's going to be a lot more newborns soon and I need to be ready."

Valiant Heart Horse is owned by ThisCrispyKat

Kind Heart Bear is owned by PrettyKittySierra


	24. Baby Boom, Paradise Valley

Chapter 24: Baby Boom, Paradise Valley

Perfect Panda waited outside his house as he watched the sky. He could see the small cloud car getting closer with each passing moment and the shine of a glowing aura that indicated a magical shield. He and Proud Heart had been married in the Kingdom of Caring two days ago, a short and simple ceremony with some of his friends from the valley in attendance. They had agreed to have it up there since Proud Heart wouldn't be able to visit for a while once their children were born, which would be any day now.

Proud Heart still refused to use the Rainbow Rescue Beam this far into her pregnancy, even with assurances that it was completely safe, so she was flying down with Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn, who had left their twin children Meek and Wild Heart to be looked after by their second child Sweet Heart Pegasus.

Perfect's anticipation finally paid off when the cloud car landed, the magical barrier that kept the wind and cold out popping like a bubble as it touched down. Proud Heart carefully extricated herself from the cloud car as Perfect almost ran right into her, carefully catching her in an embrace and giving her a big kiss.

"Eager to be at my side again?" Proud Heart giggled.

"Very much so," Perfect ran his hand over her taut tummy, "And eager for our children to be here as well."

"That's why I'm here." Sage Heart stepped out of the driver's seat, "I just need you two to show me how expand your house."

"Yes, thank you." Perfect nodded and helped Proud Heart into what was now their house as Life Heart opened the trunk of the cloud car and pulled out Proud Heart's possessions with her magic.

Inside the house, Sage Heart only had to make a few sweeping motions to create a doorway and open up a larger bedroom for the couple and a separate room for their twins, as well as expanding parts of the house to accommodate them. Perfect had several wedding gifts from the villagers which he used to furnish the rooms. Their bed was a thick fur rug set across a raised stone square with similarly fashioned pillows and blankets. The babies' cribs were hand made out of wood and lined with a similar fur.

Proud Heart took a moment to examine Sage Heart's handiwork. "It's purrfect," she ran her hands across the walls. "No bumps or seams, just smooth stone."

Sage Heart smiled, "Just ask again if you need renovations on short notice," Sage Heart turned to see Life Heart bringing in a suitcase and a cardboard box.

"It's all here. Shall we leave you two alone?" Life Heart asked.

"Yes please." Proud Heart was about to crouch down to pick up the box when Perfect picked it up for her and set it on a shelf that Sage Heart had created for them.

"Thank you," Perfect said as the two left them alone and he opened the box. "Your seeds?"

"Yes, mostly stuff you already have down here but I want to create my own garden with you. Oof!" Proud Heart rubbed tummy as the unborn children kicked, "When we can find the time."

"Perfect! They're here!" Good Luck Bear all but burst into the house, only stopping when he saw Proud Heart standing there. The green bear had the biggest grin on his face as he picked up, "Polite just gave birth! Our Cubs are here! Twin girls!"

Proud Heart stepped back in shock but smiled as Good Luck and Perfect hugged, "My nieces are here, and my mate!" he let go and gave Proud Heart a big kiss, "I don't think this day could get any better."

"Let's go see them, com'on!" Good Luck turned and bolted out of the house.

Proud Heart smiled and took Perfect's hand, "We should go see them. After all our children will be cousins." She rubbed her belly.

Perfect agreed and they set off to Good Luck and Polite's home.

Big Mama Tantan was there with a couple assistants who were bathing the twin panda girls, one with green and white fur and the other the opposite, black with green fur (save for her white tummy).

Polite seemed to be in bliss as she lay on their bed when Good Luck skidded to a stop then walked in calmly. "Is everything alright?"

"Don't worry, Lucky," Big Mama Tantan turned to the green bear, "The babies are very healthy and Polite is doing just fine."

"Just tired," she smiled, "it didn't hurt. Thank you," she turned to Big Mama Tantan as Perfect and Proud finally arrived.

"I do the same for every mother here." Big Mama Tantan turned as she heard the two newcomers arrive, "And it seems I will have to do it for you soon too, Proud."

Proud Heart rubbed her belly, "Yes, but not too soon I hope." She turned to Good Luck, "So what are their names?"

Good Luck had walked over to where his daughters were sleeping, "The black and green one is Charm Panda and the green and white one is Fortune Panda."

"We picked names out a few days ago," Polite seemed to be relaxing rather well despite having just given birth.

"How are you still awake?" Proud Heart asked.

"That's my secret, a little brew I make for all the new mothers here," Big Mama Tantan pointed to a small pot where a somewhat thick liquid still sat. "It makes the birth far less painful and helps you recover."

"Maybe we should get some to Take Care," Proud Heart giggled, "better than pain, ouch!" Proud Heart suddenly winced in pain bending over for a moment.

"Proud Heart!" Perfect was helping her upright, "What was that?"

"Just a pain, it's passed," Proud Heart waved him off and smiled.

"Maybe not," Big Mama Tantan was at Proud Heart's side, checking her over, feeling her baby bump and sides. This went on until Proud Heart felt another lance of pain several minutes later. "Looks like you need my help now then, Proud. Here." She picked up the pot and gave it to Proud Heart, who had her hands on her tummy.

"Now! Right now?!" Proud Heart was shocked.

"Yes, now drink up unless you want it to hurt," Big Mama Tantan didn't pull the pot away. Proud Heart took the hint, and the pot in both hands which she downed. She almost gagged at the taste but forced herself to swallow it.

"Uck…" she couldn't help the noise.

"Better bad flavor now than pain later," one of the assistants said.

"Let's get you back home, Polite needs her rest and so will you." Perfect helped Proud Heart turn around and out the door.

"OK, thank you," Proud Heart began waddling out the door as fast as she could.

Proud Heart stopped three times on the way back to her new house as more contractions hit. The third and fourth hurt as much as the first two but the fifth one just felt like intense pressure. "I think her brew is working," Proud Heart commented as she was laid down on a soft blanket in what was going to be their living room.

"Of course, it always works." Big Mama Tantan and her assistants had followed right behind her and were busy preparing for the birth. "Just relax until I tell you it's time."

Proud Heart just nodded and laid back. It was actually nice; she didn't think she would be able to feel this safe outside of Take Care's hospital when the time came; she still would have preferred that Take Care was here but Big Mama Tantan was so reassuring that she almost didn't mind. Part of that was probably whatever she gave her to take the edge off.

Proud Heart shuddered again as she felt a contraction, once again no pain, just pressure. "This isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Just relax, Proud Heart, I've seen Big Mama Tantan deliver babies for almost all the villagers," Perfect took Proud Heart's hand in his own.

Though there was no pain but the exertion was making Proud Heart sweat. "How long does this brew last?"

"Not as long as it should, that's why I'm making more," one of the assistants said. "Should be ready in a moment."

"Thank you," Proud Heart lay back and stared at the ceiling.

Hours passed and Proud Heart took two more doses of the pain easing brew as the contractions got closer and closer.

It had become dark outside and torches were lit inside the stone house to allow everyone to see what was going on as Big Mama Tantan checked Proud Heart. "It's time, now push Proud."

"Yes. Hnnnnnnnn!" Proud Heart grunted as she began to push. It still didn't hurt in fact, "It tingles," Proud Heart panted slightly as she stopped.

"Then the brew is working, just push like she says," one of the assistants said.

"Yes," Proud Heart bared her teeth as another contraction hit and she pushed again.

"You're doing very well, this is going so smoothly, and there!" Proud Heart had pushed harder than she intended and the first child slid out into Big Mama Tantan's waiting hands: a white and orange female panda bear. A moment later the cord was cut and the baby started to cry as one of the assistants took the cub to bathe it.

"One down, one to go," Perfect still held on to Proud Heart's hand.

"Still doesn't hurt," Proud Heart smiled, "Big Mama Tantan, can we give this brew recipe to Take Care Bear in the Kingdom of Caring?"

"If you want, but for now focus and push." The matronly woman kept her eye on Proud Heart.

"Thank you. Hnnnnnnnnngggggg!" Proud Heart pushed once again. "Still tingly," she panted. "I can do this now."

"No just wait, don't wear yourself out. The pain may be gone but the effort is real," Big Mama Tantan said.

Proud Heart just lay back and waited for the contraction. It came sooner than expected and she pushed as hard as she could, feeling the cub slide out of her into Big Mama Tantan's waiting arms: a black and orange striped male tabby kitten. Proud Heart just lay back as she listened to her children's cries as they were cleaned and dried off. But they didn't stop crying.

Proud Heart sat up and reached out, "Give them here, they're hungry."

"How does she know?" one assistant asked.

"Mother's instincts," the other assistant smiled as they handed both the panda cub and kitten to Proud Heart.

Proud Heart held the twin to her chest where they latched on and immediately started nursing from her.

"Alright, we'll leave you two alone, but call if you need help," Big Mama Tantan said as she and her assistants left.

Proud Heart just lay there as she let her twins feed off her. "So, Perfect did you have any name ideas?"

"Just one," Perfect stroked the kitten's head carefully, "How about: Precise Heart Cat?"

"I was going to go with Prince Heart Cat, but I think that would work." Proud Heart smiled.

"Let me guess, you want to name the girl Princess Panda?" Perfect looked at the orange and white panda.

"Exactly." Proud Heart nodded.

"That's just purrrfect," Perfect chuckled.

Proud Heart rolled her eyes, "No cat puns unless you are a cat," Proud Heart playfully admonished him. The twins finally finished nursing and Perfect took Precise Heart from his mother and carefully burped the kitten over his shoulder while Proud Heart did the same for Princess.

Proud Heart may not have been in pain but she was too tired to get up so decided to sleep on the living room floor while Perfect took the twins to their cribs.

OoOoO

A couple days later Take Care visited the valet alone, coming on request from all four new parents to give the cubs a check-up.

"I trust the medicine here, but I don't take chances," she said as she gave the APGAR test to Proud Heart's cubs, who were unusually cooperative for only being a few days old.

"I know, and thank you Take Care," Proud Heart stood by to make sure her children didn't raise a fuss, "So how are they?"

"As healthy as Good Luck and Polite's cubs." Take Care stepped away from the cribs. "Tenderheart said he'd be down to give them their tummy symbols later, after Love-a-Lot's check up."

"One more thing," Perfect entered the room and produced a piece of paper from his tummy symbol, "I had Big Mama Tantan give me the recipe for her 'birth brew' as some of the villagers call it." He passed the paper to Take Care, "It helps them give birth more easily and without pain."

Take Care checked the page and the ingredients therein, "Did you use this, Proud Heart?"

Proud Heart nodded, "Polite did too. It works trust me."

"I do. I'll see if I can make use of it back home." Take Care folded the paper and put it in her tummy symbol, "I'll see then again when they're old enough for their shots." She quickly took her leave, ready to be back home.

Later that day, Tenderheart did pay a visit and gave all four new cubs their tummy symbols: a charm bracelet for Charm Panda, a rainbow leading to a pot of gold for Fortune Panda, a heart wearing a tiara across the full top for Princess Panda and a heart with a smaller heart inside being picked up by tweezers for Precise Heart Cat.


	25. Baby Boom, Champ and Cheer

A/N: Showbiz Bear is owned by Teacher Bear

Also timelines will jump around a fair bit. The start of each chapter is roughly in chronological order but the chapters themselves might span weeks or months and overlap with other chapters. Each chapter of this "baby boom" arc is going to focus on a couple instead of touching on everyone in the Care Bear Family.

Chapter 25: Baby Boom, Champ and Cheer

"And done," Get Well Bear held up the two birth certificates to Champ Bear: one for a yellow girl bear named Showbiz Bear and a rose-gold boy bear named Nimble Bear.

"Thanks, Get Well." Champ took the certificates, "I gotta get back to Cheer. Tenderheart should be done with their tummy symbols now."

Champ arrived in the maternity room just as Tenderheart had bestowed the new tummy symbols on his cubs: two hearts one with a happy face and the other with a sad face (like the drama masks) for Showbiz Bear and a star on a balance beam for Nimble Bear.

Cheer law back, breathing softly and smiling as her now untidy and sweaty hair spread out behind her head. "Thank you, Tenderheart."

"No problem," Tenderheart hastily made his exit right past Champ.

"Certificates filled out," Champ held up the cards, "How do you feel Cheer?"

"Tired, but not hurt at least." Cheer smiled. "Thanks to that stuff Take Care gave me."

"You mean the brew from Big Mama Tantan?" Champ asked. Cheer just nodded. "Well from what everyone else tells me, the real challenge starts after we get home. Just get some sleep, Cheer, I'll get things ready."

"Mmmkay," Cheer muttered as she finally let herself fall asleep.

Champ watched his wife sleep for a moment then walked over to where his twin children were sleeping. "Don't worry, sports fans, we're gonna be the best parents ever."

OoOoO

A couple days later, Champ and Cheer found out just how hard it was to look after babies. It was the sort of thing that you were never fully prepared for no matter how much you learned or practised. Once the kids were in your hands you had to be responsible for them and 'on-call' 24-7. It was only their incredible stamina from athletics that let the two of them keep up with the demand without collapsing. Champ took the responsibility of grocery shopping because Cheer needed to be on hand to nurse them whenever they got hungry.

It was on one of those days that Champ stumbled home, bags full of groceries, to the sound of crying.

"Champ! Nimble needs a change!" Cheer shouted.

"On it!" Champ left the grocery bags on the counter and hurried to the twins' room. He grimaced at the smell as he picked up his rose-gold son and hurried to the changing table. He didn't question why Cheer couldn't do it, he figured she was busy with Showbiz.

And he was right, Cheer had just finished feeding their daughter and was burping her over her shoulder. At least the feeding seemed to have calmed the bear down as she spit up over Cheer's shoulder. Fortunately, she had learned since the first time and had an old towel over her shoulder to catch the goo, which she tossed in the laundry the first chance she got.

As soon as Champ finished with Nimble, he brought him over to his mother, "You holding up alright?"

"I am. Just tired," Cheer admitted.

"Me too. Here, I'll put the groceries away," Champ offered their son to her.

"Nuh-uh, I need to get up and stretch my legs before they cramp, Champ." Cheer easily passed Showbiz to Champ, "You sit down and entertain them while I put stuff away." She scooted around Champ and into the kitchen, leaving Champ with the twins in his arms.

Champ sighed and sat down, letting out a deep breath. Truthfully, he was glad to be off his feet.

The Care-a-Lot Department Store had been around for years but mostly went unused as the Care Bears usually just ate in the Hall of Hearts, grew their own food, or bought stuff from stores on Earth directly, however the recent threat from Mental Heart forced them to re-open it and stock it regularly with huge deliveries from earth just to give them place to go without putting themselves in danger or dragging the few Magi down to Earth whenever they needed to go shopping, especially now that a lot of them were eating at home. It wasn't a 'store' in the conventional sense of the word since all the stock was paid for on Earth and just given to those who went to "shop" there. The register was still manned by someone every day but more to keep track of inventory so they knew when they were running low on something without having to scour the shelves ever single day. It didn't have everything, and some shopping trips to Earth were still needed every so often; they couldn't anticipate every single need and want the Care Bears would have.

The pace at their house remained pretty non-stop for days before the twins finally seemed to burn out their energy, or at least start to sleep more. After a week they were sleeping three hours a night. Champ and Cheer came to an agreement: Cheer would feed them and Champ would change them, mostly because he currently couldn't feed them. Both decided they would have to get the twins on formula sooner than later.

Finally, after a month, Showbiz and Nimble were sleeping through the night and were calming down much more easily. Cheer had taken the day out to spent time with her friends for the first time since the twins were born.

Champ had put the twins down for a nap then decided to catch some sleep himself. The baby monitor was set up right beside his bed just in case as he fell asleep.

Champ wasn't sure how much later it was when he felt himself shaken gently awake and opened his eyes to see a smiling Cheer standing over him. "Huh?" he sounded groggy.

"Relax, the kids are still asleep," Cheer said. "I guess you needed the sleep."

Champ smiled and reached up to stroke Cheer's cheek. "Thanks. How was your day out?"

Cheer sighed then rolled over Champ into bed and helped him turn to face her, "Boring actually. We've all been so busy lately we didn't talk much, just ate and complained a bit about stuff." She rolled over to face Champ, "But I'm not tired, how about you?"

Champ propped his head up on his shoulder, "No so tired now. What were you thinking?"

Cheer leaned forwards and gave Champ a soft kiss, "Something we haven't had time for in the last month."

Champ chuckled and wrapped his arms around Cheer, "I love you Cheer."

Cheer pulled him in closer, "I love you Champ." They both kissed.

OoOoO

Once the twins were two months old (the equivalent of one year old for humans) Cheer took them to Take Care's for another check-up. It didn't take long for Take Care to run through the tests.

"Your cubs are healthy Cheer," Take Care lifted Showbiz off the exam table and back into the double stroller Cheer had brought in with her cubs. "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, can I get a check-up while I'm here?" Cheer asked, "I've been feeling a bit off lately. I don't want to get my kids sick."

"OK, Cheer, I'll make this quick."

Cheer stood by once the tests were done as Take Care checked the results. A moment later her eyes widened for a moment before she turned to Cheer.

"What's wrong, Take Care?" Cheer was becoming nervous.

Seeing the pink bear's nerves start to go, Take Care just spoke the truth, "Cheer, you're pregnant."

Cheer's eyes went wide and she just stared for a moment. "Wh-what? But how?"

Take Care set the report down and sighed, "I think you know how. How sexually active have you and Champ been in the last couple months?"

"Umm, a few times this last month, when the twins started sleeping through the night." Cheer admitted. "I didn't think it would take so soon after I had kids."

Take Care groaned, "Cheer, you know why this happened. If you don't want it to happen again then either stop, use protection or get an operation to stop it from happening again, otherwise: here you are."

Cheer sighed, "Alright." She took the stroller and pushed it out of Take Care's office, "Let's go tell dad the good news."

Champ took it surprisingly well. He just stared up at Cheer having heard her say, "Champ, I'm pregnant."

He took a moment to compose himself then said, "Are you alright?"

"I don't know!" Cheer raised her voice and dropped on the couch next to Champ, "I mean, I thought about having more kids some day but not this soon, not while the twins are still babies!" She turned to hug Champ, "How are we going to manage three kids?"

"Hey, we'll manage," Champ stroked Cheer's long hair, which she hadn't done back in a ponytail that day. "We managed with two, what's one more? Besides we'll have help if we need it."

"I know but… we just started having time for 'us' again," Cheer looked up and gave him a kiss.

Champ couldn't help but chuckle, "That's kind of how we got into this situation isn't it?"

Cheer glared at Champ for a moment, then sighed and leaned up against him. "Yeah, I know. I just… I feel like this is too much."

Noise from the playpen where the twins were playing drew Champ's attention and he gave Cheer a kiss on the forehead, "Just relax, Cheer. I'll see what the twins want and you take some time to worry about this, ok?

"Ok…" Cheer let Champ go check on the twins and smiled, "I'm lucky to have you Champ."


	26. Baby Boom, Love-a-Lot and Tenderheart

A/N: Big Heart Bear is owned by Teacher Bear

Chapter 26: Baby Boom, Love-a-Lot and Tenderheart

"One more push, Love-a-Lot," Take Care said. A moment later the sound of crying echoed through the delivery room as Take Care cleaned off the auburn bear cub. "It's a boy. Did you have a name for him?"

Love-a-Lot lay, sweaty and exhausted, and shared a look with Tenderheart, who just nodded before he replied. "We decided on Big Heart Bear." It was almost reflex as Tenderheart's symbol lit up and fired off onto his son's tummy, and created a large red heart that grew pinker toward the middle for his tummy symbol.

Take Care half-glared at Tenderheart, "You should have waited until I was done testing him." She sighed and went back to work.

"Sorry…" Tenderheart looked slightly ashamed for a moment.

"It's alright," Love-a-Lot smiled up at him.

"Are you alright? You could have taken the medicine," Tenderheart sounded concerned.

Love-a-Lot shook her head, "I wanted to feel everything, not dull the pain. It hurt but I think… I think it's something I needed to go through."

"It was your choice," Take Care said. "If you have time, Get Well can help you fill out the birth certificate."

"Alright," Tenderheart leaned over to give Love-a-Lot a kiss, "I love you, see you later."

"I love you too, Tender," Love-a-Lot sighed then lay back. Before long she was dozing.

OoOoO

Tenderheart sat in the living room surrounded by the pieces of an automatic swing with the instructions unfolded in front of him. "Attach rod C to shunt F?" He looked at the instructions then turned it over to the French side, "I can read any language so how come I can't figure out these instructions?"

"Why don't you just ask for help?" Love-a-Lot stood in the living room doorway.

Tenderheart didn't look up from his task as he stuck two of the metal tubes together, "I need to set an example, to show everyone I can be a good father and leader." Tenderheart was stopped when Love-a-Lot pulled him to his feet.

"Tenderheart, what's really wrong? You've been obsessing over this all day." She pulled him to the couch and forced him to sit down.

Tenderheart sighed and leaned back to stare at the ceiling, "I just… I've been thinking about True Heart and Noble Heart's retirement. I mean… They haven't been doing much to lead us for years but I always felt safe knowing I could ask them for help and now. I guess being a leader, being a father. I feel like I need to prove myself, prove I can handle all of this responsibility on my own." He saw that Love-a-Lot was about to reply and he hastily added, "the same way you said you needed to prove you could handle giving birth without that painkiller from Paradise Valley."

Love-a-Lot paused, then sighed, "Alright, I guess I felt I needed to let myself take all the pain, and I regret that decision, but what's done is done. Besides you're not alone here, or when it comes to leading. Brave Heart and Love Heart are there to help you." She gave him a peck on the cheek, "And I'm here to help you with this," she turned to the mess on the floor, "ok, maybe I can't help with this specific mess."

Tenderheart could help but laugh at the mess he had left on the floor, "Ok, I'll call Grumpy and see if he can sort this out." As Tenderheart pulled out his Heartphone he paused, "Why haven't I heard anything out of Big Heart?"

Love-a-Lot held up a finger to her mouth, "Because he's asleep."

Tenderheart stared back at her, "After only a week? Last time I saw Champ he looked like he just sprinted a marathon."

"I guess Big Heart's just a quiet baby. Maybe he'll get rowdier when he gets older." Love-a-Lot stood up, "but I'll go check on him, just to be safe."

"Thank you," Tenderheart dialed Grumpy as Love-a-Lot left the room.

OoOoO

Take Care double-checked her notes after she passed Big Heart back to his father. Tenderheart had become concerned that their son was still oddly quiet and not very active at one month old. At first Take Care just expected to find nothing wrong and that Big Heart was just a quiet child, but she was nothing if not thorough.

"Tenderheart, I think your son has asthma." She gave the news maybe a bit too bluntly but she saw the bear's face fall so she quickly moved to assuage him worries, "It's too early to be certain but the symptoms he has are similar to other cases I've done research on. I'll probably be able to tell more when he's a year old but until then just let me know if he has any breathing problems when he's awake or asleep but otherwise don't worry."

Tenderheart nodded then looked down at Big Heart in his arms, who just looked back up at his father. "Is there anything I can do, Take Care?"

Take Care did her best to give a reassuring smile, "Yes, just don't worry too much and let me know if he has trouble breathing. Other than that don't panic."

"Ok. Thank you Take Care." Tenderheart turned and left. No doubt Love-a-Lot wouldn't take this as well, but for now all he could do was wait and look after his son. He sniffed then grimaced, and change his son's diaper.

By the time Tenderheart got home and finished changing Big Heart's diaper, Love-a-Lot had returned from her little excursion. Tenderheart was watching Big Heart lie in his crib and stare back up at his father.

"Everything alright, Tender?" Love-a-Lot whispered as she came up behind Tenderheart and put her hands on his shoulders.

"No…" Tenderheart turned to look at her, "Take Care says he might have asthma. That might be why he doesn't cry very much."

"Oh…" Love-a-Lot wanted to freak out, but she knew that would only upset Tenderheart so she just squeezed his shoulders in a comforting gesture. "So what do we do?"

"Keep an eye on him, see if he has trouble breathing… hope it's just an overreaction…" Tenderheart stepped away from the crib and stared at the ceiling, "I'm supposed to be psychic, Love, but I feel like I haven't learned anything. Soulful doesn't talk with me about these things and Aqua's picking things up faster than I am. I feel like I'm failing in my responsibilities to everyone."

"You're not failing, Tender," Love-a-Lot gave him a kiss, "You're just doing the best you can in a crazy situation. Don't stress about how you're failing, focus on what you're good at: being a leader and a father. I know things will work out."

Tenderheart smiled, "Where do you get this confidence, Love?"

"From you," Love-a-lot kissed him. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed while Big Heart dozed off.


	27. Baby Boom, Cozy Heart and Jolly Heart

A/N: Jolly Heart Platypus and Pledge Heart Platypus are owned by Fauna Greywolf

Chapter 27: Baby Boom, Cozy Heart and Jolly Heart

Jolly Heart was curled up around his and Cozy Heart's eggs in their riverside home, one bright blue and the other lavender. The colors weren't that odd to them, since every animal in the Kingdom of Caring was brightly colored anyway.

Movement from the eggs startled Jolly out of his nap. He looked down to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and saw the eggs shaking.

"Sheila, Cm'ere! They're hatchin'!" Jolly called out.

Cozy Heart came waddling as fast as she could, still wet from when she had been swimming. She watched the eggs, "Come out, we want to meet you." She coaxed without touching the eggs.

Of the two the lavender egg was shaking more violently, then cracks appeared and began to flake off and a white bill began pushing the shards aside. Eventually half the shell was in pieces and a baby platypus covered in egg goo crawled out.

Jolly was the first to scoop up the baby, "Don't worry, nippah, I'll get you cleaned off." He retreated to the bathroom and prepared hot water to clean him off.

Cozy kept her eye on the blue egg, which only shook every so often before a single crack finally appeared. "Ssslow and sssteady," Cozy said as she watched. Eventually more cracks appeared and the bottom of the egg crumbled away, leaving the bottom half of a penguin chick sitting under a mostly intact shell, but still covered with egg goo. Cozy wanted to reach down and pull the egg off her child, but she had to let them do it on their own. After some awkward shuffling around the penguin chick pushed its feet on the shell and forced it off. Cozy scooped them up before they could shuffle away and waddled towards the bathroom.

Jolly had already finished cleaning off the platypus, a boy with dark lavender fur and a white bill and tail. "Here ya go, Cozy. He's cute."

Cozy giggled as she moved to carefully bathe the newly hatched penguin. "He'sss beautiful, and ssso isss he." She carefully bathed the goo of the penguin, a boy, and revealed his ice-blue fur. "We ssshould take them to Take Care."

"Roight Shiela," Jolly nuzzled his beak against Cozy's, since they couldn't really kiss, then picked up his platypus son as they headed for Take Care's hospital.

Take Care was out when they arrived, having gone to her reading spot with Indy, so Get Well looked after the two cubs. "This is a bit odd, I mean you two are the most unique cousins up here." She commented as she ran the baby penguin and platypus through their tests. "As far as I can see they're healthy, if I compare them to your own records. Just let us know if you have any concerns."

"OI think we'll do alright. Thanks Dr. Get Well," Jolly said.

Get Well beamed slightly as being called 'doctor' right before Brave Heart arrived to give the new cubs their tummy symbols. The baby platypus was named Pledge Heart and had a close envelope with a red heart shaped seal for a tummy symbol and the penguin was names Chill Heart and had three heart shaped ice cubes for a tummy symbol; bokth had a red heart stamp on the front of their bills much like their parents.

It wasn't too long after the twins were at home and diapered that they started crying. It didn't take much to figure out what was wrong.

"They're hungry," Cozy said.

"Yeah, so how do you, err, feed them Cozy?" Jolly's tone had become a bit concerned.

Cozy patted her chest, "I'm a bird so I can't nurse them."

"Unless you sweat milk." Jolly's comment made Cozy give him a funny look. "It's how platypuses feed hatchlings." He turned to their children, "A bottle might not work either. What'll we do?"

Cozy stared at her children, "Noble Heart and Take Care had to feed me mussshy food when I wasss a cub sssince I couldn't drink from a bottle." Something clicked in Cozy Heart's mind and she turned to the nursery door, "I think I know. Watch them, Jolly," Cozy hurried out of their home to the water's edge and dove in.

"What're you doing, Cozy?" Jolly called a bit too late for Cozy to hear before she was underwater.

Some might have found it odd that Cozy and Jolly fished for their food, but both of them occasionally enjoyed raw fish so there was no reason for them not to do this. The circle of life was still a thing in the Kingdom of Caring. Cozy found some small fish quite easily and snatched them up in her beak. She jumped back out onto the back next to her home, still chewing the fish in her mouth as she walked back to her newborn children.

Jolly just watched his wife in confusion as she approached the crying babies and leaned over, beak open. Instinct kicked in for Chill Heart first and he stood up and reached into her beak with his own, chewing at the food stored in Cozy's craw. Pledge had some more difficulty so Cozy resorted to pushing some of the food into his mouth.

By the time Cozy finished and her children were asleep, Jolly was just staring at her.

Cozy smiled, "That'sss how penguinsss feed their chicksss. Platypuss mothersss have their way, penguinsss have this."

"I see," Jolly nodded, "Lookit 'em sleeping. You sure you're alright doing that for every meal?"

"I have to be, for their sake." Cozy leaned up against him, "Besssidess, penguin dadsss spent more time raising the chicksss than the momsss."

Jolly put an arm around Cozy, "Alright, Shiela, don't worry. I'll do my part too."


	28. Baby Boom, Harmony and Loyal Heart

Chapter 28: Baby Boom, Harmony and Loyal Heart

"And her we go, it's a girl, and a husky." Get Well turned around from where she had just cleaned off Loyal Heart and Harmony's daughter, a purple and white husky puppy.

Harmony Bear smiled, she wasn't hurt thanks to the medicine from Paradise Valley but she was still tired. "Our little Melody." She reached out and Get Well passed the puppy to her.

"Is that her name? Melody Heart Husky?" Get Well looked up at Loyal Heart, who stood next to the bed Harmony lay on.

Loyal Heart nodded, "She insisted and I see no reason to oppose her."

"Got it, just give me a few minutes to write up the birth certificate." Get Well exited the room to give them some alone time.

"Here, may I hold her?" Loyal Heart reached down.

"Yes, please," Harmony turned to give Loyal Heart better access as he picked up his daughter. She had only cried briefly after she was born and was now lying quietly in Loyal Heart's arms.

"She's going to be beautiful when she grows up," Loyal Heart tickled his daughter's ears.

"She already is," Harmony smiled as she lay back to sleep. Loyal Heart watched her for a time then carefully set Melody down to sleep so he could go fill out the birth certificate. Later, Brave Heart showed up to give their daughter her tummy symbol: a musical measure with three joined eighth notes with red hearts at the ends.

OoOoO

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Melody Heart Husky had a very distinct cry, halfway between a human's cry and dog's howl. That and her very strong lungs meant Loyal Heart and Harmony didn't actually need their baby monito to hear when she woke up in the middle of the night.

Loyal Heart growled slightly then took a deep breath and tried to get up, until Harmony put out a hand to stop him. "You went last time, my turn," Harmony pulled herself out of bed in her nightshirt and stumbled across the hall to Melody Heart's room.

The little purple and white husky was howling up a storm, thrashing around in her lavender onesie. Harmony sighed as she reached down to pick her up. "There there, mommy's here, ouch!" Melody had accidentally bopped her mother on her nose. Harmony carefully set Melody down as she rubbed her nose. "Ok, let's try something less hands on." Harmony didn't have to think long on what to do and despite her daughter's continued wailing she started to sing.

"_I keep recalling_

_How life used to be_

_Now and then I wonder_

_Have we changed?_

_With your hand in mine_

_All the moments shine_

_Like the pictures in a storybook_

_We will turn the pages_

_Sharing pieces of the memory_

_I care for you now_

_As I did then_

_At our beginning_

_Out beginning…"_

Melody stopped crying halfway through the lullaby and by the end she had fallen asleep. Harmony smiled down at her and carefully stroked her daughter's ears before she headed back to bed.

"You remember that song too." Loyal Heart had turned to face Harmony as she climbed back into bed.

Harmony smiled as they snuggled up against each other, "I remember the first time True Heart sang it to us on the cloud clipper. I never forgot it."

"Me either." Loyal Heart gave her a kiss, "You sing it beautifully."

"Thank you," Harmony rested her head on Loyal Heart's chest. "I love you."

"I love you too, dearest Harmony," Loyal Heart gave her another kiss on the top of her head, then they drifted off to sleep.


	29. Baby Boom, Lonesomeheart and Aqua Bear

A/N: This is a bit out of order but I wanted to do Gentle Heart and Bright Heart last so don't take the order of events too seriously please.

Also the character Carecub belongs to Carecub

Chapter 29: Baby Boom, Lonesomeheart and Aqua Bear

Get Well rolled her eyes as she filled out the birth certificate for Lonesomeheart and Aqua Bear's powder blue son whom they had decided to name "Carecub". Part of her regretted asking her mom to let her handle these births on her own, granted it was easier ever since she brought back that concoction from Paradise Valley but it the work was almost more than she could handle at times, she was exhausted but she finished the certificate and stood up to return it to Aqua and Lonesome. As she entered the delivery room where they were resting Get Well had to remind herself how young the two were, not even adults by some cultural standards, age was so odd in the Care Bear Family that Get Well had stopped trying to make sense of it a long time ago.

"Here you go." She handed the certificate to Aqua.

"Thanks," Aqua smiled as he accepted it, "Anything else we need to do?"

"No, just rest and you'll be back home before you know it. Excuse me," Get Well exited the maternity ward and swiped her forehead. Next time she'd accept the help, for now she needed some water.

OoOoO

Aqua and Lonesome had energy to spare to look after little Carecub, whose tummy symbol was a red heart surrounded by four golden arcs above, below and to each side. Perhaps it was because of their youthful energy that they weren't tired when Carecub finally was put down for his nap.

Lonesomeheart all but threw herself onto the couch next to Aqua. "This isn't as bad as everyone's talking about," she grinned.

Aqua sighed but smiled, "Maybe we're just good at it."

"So how's the psionic training going?" Lonesome turned to face him with a coy smile on her face.

"It's going well, but I'm still working at it." He turned to stare at her, "I can sort of hear your thoughts but nothing distinct yet."

"Keep trying, you'll get it," Lonesome kissed him. "I should call Redemption over to see our son." She fished her own heartphone of her tummy symbol and called their friend.

Redemptionheart was only too happy to get a break from studying to meet baby Carecub. She stood over their crib and smiled, "He's so small." She recalled how it had likely been her secret nighttime tickling that had made this happen. She smiled, some good had come of her little hobby.

"Yeah," Lonesome whispered, "Let's go before he wakes up." She carefully pulled Redemption back into the living room and helped her sit down on the couch.

"How's your studying going?" Aqua asked.

"Hard," Redemption held a hand to her head, "I have a near constant headache while I'm staring at papers or computer screens," she managed a smile, "but I'm going to do it. As soon as this whole 'save the future' crisis is over I'm going to medical school."

"Well good luck to you then," Lonesomeheart clapped her friend on the shoulder, "We know you'll pass with flying colors."

"Thank you. So how have you been holding up with Carecub?" Redemption asked.

"Pretty good," Aqua smiled, "I thought it would be more tiring than it is."

"That's good," Redemption stood up, "I'd love to stay but I have to get back to studying. Have fun," she left the couple sitting on the couch.

Lonesomeheart scooted over next to her mate. "As fun as having her over was, I'm happy to just be with you." She gave Aqua a kiss.

"Me too," Aqua kissed her back.

Lonesome smirked and began tickling Aqua's sides.

"EEEEEHEEHEEHEE STOP!" Aqua tried to squirm away.

"Nope! I know you love this," Lonesome giggled as she kissed him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Aqua reached down and started tickling Lonesome back.

"EEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lonesome didn't let up either until she kissed him on the lips. Aqua pulled her down on top of him.

Redemption lingered at the front door and smiled as she heard them tickling each other, then sighed as she headed home. She needed to finish her studies.

OoOoO

Get Well just stared at Lonesomeheart, a bit dumbfounded, "Congratulations? Lonesome, you're pregnant again."

Lonesomeheart was grinning as she heard the diagnosis. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Get Well set the report down.

"I knew it!" Lonesomeheart jumped off the exam table, "Anything else I need to know."

"Apparently not," Get Well just watched at Lonesome all but bounced out of the exam room.

Aqua was in the waiting room holding Carecub in his hands. Upon seeing his mate bounce out of the exam room with a big smile on her face he asked, "What did she say?"

"We're having another baby," She leaned down and kissed Aqua.

Aqua smiled back, "That's great. I just hope Carecub doesn't feel neglected."

"He won't be," Lonesome took Carecub into her arms so Aqua could stand before they left.

Get Well emerged from the exam room still baffled, "Where do those two get all their energy?"


	30. Baby Boom, Gentle Heart and Bright Heart

Chapter 30: Baby Boom, Gentle Heart and Bright Heart

Gentle Heart's delivery was rough. Her labour lasted forty hours and during the whole process Take Care couldn't stop worrying or even take a break to sleep, especially since the Gentle Heart refused to use the pain relieving brew or any other painkillers out of concern for her child's safety. Once the delivery was done Get Well took over so Take Care could get some much needed sleep, but not before she sent a text to Independent Bear, who was out on a Caring Mission escort.

Take Care felt like her head had barely hit the pillow when she was being shaken awake. She groaned and looked up into her husband's eyes, "Indy?"

"You asked me to wake you up as soon as I got home," Indy stood back to allow Take Care out of bed.

"Right, right," Take Care yawned and slid out of bed, "Gotta check on Gentle Heart."

"How long did her labour last?" Indy followed Take Care as she wobbled forwards a few paces then stood up straighter as she grabbed a fresh doctor's coat out of the supply closet.

"40 hours," Take Care shook her head to dispel the clouds from it, "I need to make sure she's alright."

Indy moved to help her stand up, "You only got about five hours of sleep, maybe finish that and let Get Well look after her."

Take Care shook her head, "I need to be sure she's alright then I'll sleep." She carefully shrugged to tell Indy to let go of her then marched into the maternity room.

Gentle Heart lay asleep on her medical bed, her new son Eager Heart Ram sleeping quietly in his crib; he was an orange ram with a jumping heart for a tummy symbol. Bright Heart had gone home at Gentle Heart's insistence to get a full night's sleep, reassured that she was in good hands in Take Care's hospital.

Gentle Heart woke up when she heard the door open and saw Take Care enter in and stumble slightly before she grabbed a clipboard to take notes. "Alright, Gentle Heart, how are you feeling?"

Gentle Heart tried to raise her head, then her arms. "I… I can't move…"

"What?" Take Care's voice immediately become concerned as she all but ran to Gentle Heart's side, "Try to life your arms."

Gentle Heart nodded and tried again, barely getting her arm up off the bed, "It feels like my body doesn't want to work."

Take Care gave Gentle Heart a check over, even taking a blood sample for good measure, "It's nothing too serious," she was relieved, "Your body is just dumping a lot of calcium into milk production. You just need to eat food with a lot calcium for the next little while. I think we have some yogurt in the fridge."

"I'm on it," Indy had been lingering at the door and bolted once Take Care had suggested her treatment. Once they had gotten married, Indy had taken responsibility for the grocery shopping so he knew better than Take Care what they had most of the time. He returned a few minutes later with one of the hospital's trays on it. "Yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds and a glass of milk," he set the tray on the pull out table Take Care had installed on all the hospital's beds. "If you need more I can go get some less common stuff from earth."

"That's all, thank you Indy," Take Care sat down next to Gentle Heart. "Can you lift your arms?"

Gentle Heart made another effort, but to no avail, looking apologetic.

Take Care couldn't help but smile slightly as she spooned some of the yogurt up for her, "Don't worry, it's just like when you were a cub." Gentle Heart accepted the spoonful as Take Care fed her.

It took quite some time for Gentle Heart to finish all the food in front of her and for the first time in weeks she felt full. She lay back on her bed and sighed sadly.

Take Care picked up the empty tray only to have it levitate out of her hands and over to Indy, who had stood by the door while she fed Gentle Heart. "I'll take care of this," Indy smirked then left with the tray.

Take Care sighed, she was still getting used to Indy doing that. "Gentle Heart you just need to rest and you should feel better in a couple hours… What's wrong?" She had turned to see that Gentle Heart was crying softly as tears streaked down her face.

"I hate this…"

The words were a bit of a shock. Gentle Heart didn't even hate No-Heart (though she still didn't like him) and it seemed like she was too kind too even feel that emotion.

"I'm sorry Gentle Heart, you just need to rest until your body recovers." Take Care took her hand.

Gentle Heart managed to shake her head just once, "Not just this, I hate being so weak that you… that everyone feels they need to look out for me." She looked up at Take Care, "And how much you put yourself through for me."

Take Care was a bit taken aback but wasn't able to say anything before Gentle Heart continued, "You barely got any sleep after you stayed up for almost two days to help me give birth and you almost died of hypothermia because you had to check on me during the flu outbreak and _I wasn't even sick!_" Gentle Heart did her best to sit up but fell back against the bed and stared up at the ceiling, softly crying to herself. "I know it's because you care, but I don't want to be so weak that everyone expects me to collapse at the least little thing… I don't want to collapse at the least little thing anymore…" she turned her tearstained face to Take Care, "Why *sniff* why am I so weak…"

Take Care just stared at Gentle Heart for a moment. Ever since Noble Heart adopted her she'd always been close to Gentle Heart and noticed the lamb's frailty. She never expected to see her break down over this, and it hurt to see that it was because she was so concerned about how everyone else was looking out for her. She took Gentle Heart's hand, "I don't know, Gentle Heart, but…"

"Then please, help me!" Gentle Heart managed to force her other hand over to clasp Take Care's, "Help me fix this, please… tell me what wrong with me!"

Take Care stroked Gentle Heart's wooly hair with her free hand, "Ok, I will in a week when your body has stabilized. Just get some sleep now."

"Only if you do too. Let Get Well look after me, please…" Gentle Heart pleaded.

Take Care couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I will." She carefully pulled her hand free of Gentle Heart's and stood up. At the door she paused and turned back to the lamb, "Gentle Heart, you're stronger than you think you are." The green lamb didn't reply, just lay back and fell asleep.

Indy was waiting at the door for Take Care when she emerged; as soon as she exited he saw her stumble and he moved to catch her. "Careful, you do need sleep."

Take Care yawned, her 'doctor's reserve' of energy having been depleted from going to check up on Gentle Heart. "I know. Thank you, Indy."

Indy carefully guided her to their room, "I had a bit of a day too," he carefully guided her to bed after he helped her shed her doctor's coat. "Let's both get some sleep."

Take Care nodded and slid into bed, a moment later she felt Indy's arms embrace her from behind. She smiled, rolled over and snuggled up with him. She was still worried about Gentle Heart but for now she was going to get some much needed sleep.

OoOoO

Thankfully, Gentle Heart was able to get up and leave once she had some sleep and took the week to get used to looking after her son. A week later, Gentle Heart and Bright Heart brought Eager Heart in for his first check-up, and one for herself as well.

Take Care finished looking over Eager Heart, who giggled when she used her stethoscope to check his breathing. "Eager Heart is healthy, typical baby boy." Take Care picked up the still giggling baby ram and handed him to Bright Heart. "I just need to give Gentle Heart a quick check-up before you go."

"Alright, come on Eager," Bright Heart took his son in his hands carefully and exited the exam room.

Once Bright Heart was out, Take Care ran Gentle Heart through the usual check-up tests, as well as a blood test and several other more in depth exams. Gentle Heart was uncomfortable during a few points but every time Take Care asked if she should stop, Gentle Heart insisted that she continue.

Take Care finally finished the last test and helped Gentle Heart off the exam table, "I'll call you when I'm finished my analysis."

"Thank you, Take Care," Gentle Heart gave her big hug before she left and Take Care settled in to her analysis.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to finish and three days later she called Gentle Heart back to her hospital.

"I have good news for you, Gentle Heart: there's nothing medically wrong with you," Take Care watched the relief spread across Gentle Heart's face as she let out a breath of nerves she had been holding.

"So why am I so weak?" Gentle Heart asked.

"It's your lifestyle and diet." Take Care looked up from her notes at Gentle Heart, "You need to eat more and get exercise." Gentle Heart had always been a nibbler, even as a cub she only ever ate the bare minimum, not helped when she had been exposed to human pop culture and learned of the stigma against the overweight, something she had never really been able to shake; she preferred to read instead of running around like the other cousins to play. Even now she preferred low energy pastimes like sewing and knitting (she had sewn Eager Heart's onesie herself).

"Oh… so what do I have to do to get better?" Gentle Heart twiddled her fingers together, knowing the answer but needing Take Care to say it.

"You need to start eating more, you eat healthily, more than most of the family these days, but you don't eat enough, especially protein. And if you want to make a good positive impact you need to start working out. Talk to Champ Bear to get a workout routine going but if he and Cheer don't have time then Confidence Heart can help you instead."

"Protein… you mean meat right?" Gentle Heart grimaced slightly.

Take Care smiled, "You're not a ruminant like normal sheep, Gentle, unless you've been chewing cud for years and kept it a secret." That got a small smile out of Gentle Heart, "Your digestive system is identical to that of a human, you even have small canine teeth for that. But if you don't want to eat meat there are other proteins you can eat, like beans." She handed a page to Gentle Heart, "This is the list of foods and the amounts you need if you want to do this, but only if you're exercising as well."

Gentle Heart scanned the list, "Why is garlic mentioned so much?"

"Helps your immune system, garlic powder or chunks mixed in to whatever you're eating is a good way to get that."

"OK…Do I have to do this all at once?" Gentle Heart sounded nervous.

Take Care took Gentle Heart's free hand, "You don't have to do any of this if you don't want to. This is just the guidelines you'll have to follow if you want to better your constitution. If you don't want to that's fine."

"No!" Gentle Heart sudden shout made Take Care jump, "I don't want everyone always worried about me. I'll do this," she stood up off the exam table, "No matter what it takes."

"Don't overdo it," Take Care stood up and patted her back, "Just remember that you're stronger than you think, alright?"

Gentle Heart nodded, "Alright. Thank you," she gave Take Care another hug then left her office.

Gentle Heart read the nutrition chart over and over on the walk home. Thankfully it wasn't windy in the forest but she was still reading it right up until she entered hers and Bright Heart's house. Almost immediately she heard Eager crying and set the list on the kitchen counter so she could tend to him.

While Gentle Heart was feeding their son, Bright Heart found the nutrition sheet in the kitchen. He read it over as he sat next to Gentle Heart on their couch as she nursed Eager Heart.

"Oof, he's hungry today," Gentle Heart looked down at him, "I'm going to need more calcium."

"And a lot more by the looks of it," Bright Heart looked up from the sheet, "So you're going through with this?"

"Yes. I need to do this so I can feel better about myself. Take Care says I'm strong so I'm going to be by seeing this through."

Bright Heart gave her a look of concern but saw the determined look in Gentle Heart's eyes. He wasn't going talk her out of this so he just gave her a kiss, "Then I'm behind you. I can cut back on my projects with Star Fox to help look after this little guy," he stroked their son's woolly head. "Don't protest, you've given a lot of leeway to me about my inventions and projects so I'm going to give the same back to you."

Gentle Heart smiled, "Thank you."

The next day, after feeding Eager Heart and eating a larger than she was used to breakfast at the Hall of Hearts, Gentle Heart made her way to the Care-a-Lot gym and found Champ Bear waiting for her with a gym bag in hand.

He smiled, "Are you ready to get started?"

Gentle Heart gave a sheepish smile, "Yes."

"Alright, then put these on," Champ pulled a tank top and shorts made of a smooth black material. "It breathes better and helps keep you cool. Trust me you'll want this to help."

"O-ok," Gentle Heart took the clothes and headed for the change room.

It was an odd quirk for some members of the Care Bear Family that even though they spent most of their time not wearing any clothes some, like Gentle Heart, didn't like to change in front of each other; when Gentle Heart got a look at herself in the change room mirror she blushed slightly at how revealing the tank top should have been.

Gentle Heart shook off the paradoxical feelings and returned to the gym floor, "This feels strange," she admitted.

"Don't worry, Gentle Heart, you'll get used it. Now let's get started," he led her over to an elliptical exercise machine. "We'll start with some cardio, hop up," he gave Gentle Heart a boost.

"Is this like a treadmill?" Gentle Heart stood in the large pedals and grabbed the two bars attached to them.

"Sort of, it's easier on the legs and doesn't force you to keep up with it. It simulates leg movement when running or walking. Just start walking and I'll set things up." Champ said.

Gentle Heart nodded then started to push. The giant pedals moved easily which forced her arms to move in tandem. A beep indicated that the screen was starting up and Champ reached over to set the program, which made the pedals harder to turn.

"There, I Set the resistance at 5, Just do your best to run for 20 minutes but tell me if you start to feel faint," Champ stepped back.

"Twen…ty…min…utes?" Gentle Heart was already breathing heavily.

"If you can, but stop if you feel faint, and don't sprint just jog as best you can," Champ repeated.

"I'll…do…it!" Gentle Heart turned to face the control panel screen and pushed onwards.

Gentle Heart had never sweated this much in her life! Not only that but after five minutes her weak constitution meant she was already panting. Champ gave her a concerned look, "You don't have to go the full twenty minutes if you can't handle it."

"No!" Gentle Heart panted, "I…will!"

Champ was taken aback by the fierceness that Gentle Heart managed as she pushed doggedly onwards. Champ was impressed that she held out the entire time and as the timer on the elliptical hit 19 minutes he spoke up, "Alright just slow down now for the last minute, you don't want to stop suddenly." Gentle Heart and slowed down until the finally stopped, slumping forwards once she stopped.

"Very good, let's get you down," Champ helped Gentle Heart off the machine then began cleaning it with a spray bottle and towel nearby, "How do you feel? Tired? Energized? Is your heart pounding?"

Gentle Heart nodded, still breathing hard.

"Good, as long as you don't hear your heart in your ear you should be fine." He helped her walk over to the weight machines, "You should start with cardio every day to get your blood flowing and loosen you up. You can turn up the resistance in a couple weeks but stick to what we did before. Now for the weights." He stopped Gentle Heart in front of the bench press machine, "this is a classic, just lie down and grab these bars." He tapped the weight bars which Gentle Heart grabbed. "Scoot back a bit, there you go. Now I just need to set the weight.

Gentle Heart didn't look at what Champ was doing but held still until he set the weight. "Alright, try that, just push up on the bars, not too fast though." Gentle Heart pushed, but found the bars unmoving no matter how hard she strained.

"Oops, too much, my bad," Champ moved the weight pin to a much lower weight, "try that."

Again, Gentle Heart pushed and this time she found the bar was able to move with some effort. "Ok, just push up until your arms are almost fully extended, stop there!" Gentle Heart froze, her arms quivering, "now lower down slowly, don't just drop them or you'll hurt yourself." Gentle Heart let the arms drop slowly until she felt the weights clack together.

"How…was…that?" Gentle Heart almost let her arms hang down until Champ held them back up.

"Good, but you have to do that ten times in a row." Champ said, "Don't worry, I'll be here so you don't get hurt. Count to two on the way up then count to four as you drop them, let's go."

Gentle Heart was still determined to see it through and pushed up again as Champ counted, "two, two. Two, two, three, four. Three, two. Three, two, three, four…"

It seemed like ages before Champ said, "ten, two, three, four! And stop." Gentle Heart let her arms drop down, breathing heavily. "Am…I…done?"

"Not yet, you should try to do two of those sets at least and increasing more as you go on, but take a minute's rest in between each set." Champ said, "You'll have to increase the weight in a couple weeks. Now are you sure you want to keep going?"

"Yes!" the response came fast as Gentle Heart put her hands back on the bars, "One, two. One, two, three, four…"

Over an hour, four more workout routines and a stretching session later, Gentle Heart wobbled and stumbled towards the change room to shower off all the sweat stuck to her fur. She was exhausted, sore, her arms and leg felt like jelly and she stank worse than she ever had in her life, but by the time she had scrubbed herself clean in the shower she felt exhilarated!

"So how do you feel?" Champ asked as he met Gentle Heart after cleaning himself off.

"Tired, but good and not tired?" she sounded confused.

Champ smirked and clapped her gently on the back, "That's the adrenaline, you'll be fine to get home but you'll crash in about an hour. Try to eat some protein as soon as you get home, baked beans are a good choice especially if you're not going to eat meat."

"Oh well…I tried some breakfast sausage this morning. It wasn't bad," Gentle admitted.

"Just follow the nutrition guide Take Care gave you. Also don't come back tomorrow, give your body a day off after each workout to heal itself or you won't get any stronger," Champ said, "I'll meet you back here the day after tomorrow morning."

"Ok, thank you." Gentle Heart gave Champ a loose hug before they split up and she headed home.

Champ was right: after she got home and ate lunch (baked beans like Champ suggested) Gentle Heart felt exhaustion overwhelm her and she slumped on the couch, just in time for Bright Heart to bring Eager Heart in for his own meal.

Gentle Heart smiled as she held on to him so he could nurse but could barely do that as Bright Heart sat beside them. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted, but good," Gentle Heart managed a weak smile, "How did you hold up?"

"We did just fine, right buddy?" He stroked his son's cheek while Gentle Heart shifted him to continue nursing. "I changed his diaper and kept him company until you got home to feed him."

Gentle Heart smiled and gave Bright Heart a kiss, "You did just fine, Bright."

OoOoO

Normally Gentle Heart and Bright Heart ate all their meals at the Hall of Hearts, it was just simpler for them and gave Bright Heart time to work on his latest projects instead of spending time to prepare meals. With Gentle Heart's new diet, and her looking after Eager Heart, Bright Heart had decided to cook their suppers. Bright Heart wasn't a bad cook but a very methodical one. He always measured ingredients exactly and cooked for the exact right time, treating it like any other project where he followed the recipes like instruction manuals.

Gentle Heart didn't mind, and by the time supper was ready she managed to put Eager Heart down for a nap. Bright Heart had made lasagna and a large loaf of garlic bread. Gentle Heart could smell the ground beef and gulped as she looked at the much larger square on her plate.

"Sorry, I just picked the first thing I saw. I should have made something else," Bright Heart had a smaller portion in front of him but he was staring at Gentle Heart.

"It's fine, just the smell." Gentle Heart took a deep breath then took a bite out of the garlic bread, almost gagging at the strong taste. Bright Heart had definitely followed the 'don't spare the garlic' part of her meal instructions but she chewed and swallowed nonetheless. "I can do this. I will do this!" She cut the first bite out the square and ate it. It took almost a full minute of chewing and suppressing her gag reflex to swallow the first bite but she did it. It only took half as long to eat the second.

Bright Heart watched her eat then turned to his own plate. He was perfectly fine with eating meat, neither of them debated about the other's eating habits, but watching her struggle was hard to do. He had to sit for almost ten minutes before she finished her serving and sat back, eating the rest of her garlic bread.

"Are you alright, full yet?" Bright Heart asked.

Gentle Heart swallowed her bread, "Not quite, not sure I want to eat another serving that big."

Bright Heart looked at the dish still more than half full, "We can always have leftovers, then you don't have to think about supper tomorrow."

Gentle Heart smiled and got her feet to clear the table. The exhaustion from her first session at the gym having finally gone away. "Thanks for helping me with this, Bright."

"Anything for you, Gentle," Bright Heart gave her a kiss on the cheek, but Gentle Heart turned and gave him a kiss on the mouth. It didn't last long, the heavy garlic scent on both their breaths compelling them to step away and do the dishes first.

OoOoO

Gentle Heart held to her word and schedule. Every other day she went to the gym, followed Champ's personal training instructions, showered then went home to eat some protein, alternating between getting used to and getting sick of baked beans. After the second week Champ brought some workout drinks for her to use, sports drinks for use during the workout, pre-workout drinks to give her the energy she needed and post workout to speed up the process of building muscle, with guidance and check-ups from Take Care of course.

After a month, Champ had to stop as he couldn't leave his pregnant again wife home alone with their twin children anymore, but Gentle Heart soldiered on. Once she had gotten used to going she realized she didn't need someone to show her what to do, she even figured out when to increase the weight on her machines, though she wasn't sure if the numbers on the weights were pounds or kilograms she knew when she had doubled the weight total. Eventually she began to look forwards to her workouts as her energy went up, but she never neglected her son. Nursing, burping, changing diapers and watching him play with the toys in his playpen and crib.

After one session, almost four months to the day after she had started, Gentle Heart was running on the gym's treadmill, having switched over after getting some advice from Confidence Heart (Champ and Cheer were busy with their newborn). Gentle Heart was just going through her regular warmup when she checked the machine's timer and realized she had been jogging for over and hour and didn't feel tired.

Curious, she slowed to a stop and went to look at herself in one of the mirrors in front of the stretching and yoga area. She looked herself up and down, then raised an arm. She had muscles! She looked herself over. Her previous waif-like body having gained tone and definition. She giggled slightly as she flexed her arms. She felt good, really good! Better than she had in years if ever!

For a test she went to each of her weight machines and turned the weight down to where Champ had started her and at each lift the weight felt as light as a feather. She remembered how much she had strained to do just one set and now she was lifting them like they weighed nothing! She decided she didn't need to push today, she didn't want to be exhausted and one day without pushing herself wouldn't reverse what she'd worked for. She practically skipped to the showers and gave herself a good hard scrub until her skin under her fur tingled. She wanted to be completely clean tonight as she packed up her gym clothes and towel.

Bright Heart wasn't expecting Gentle home so soon, he was watching Eager Heart toddle around his playpen (at four months he was about the age of a two-year-old human), just grateful that even with her new gym hobby Gentle Heart hadn't missed his first steps or words a couple weeks ago.

The door all but burst open as Gentle Heart entered the room. "I'm hooome!" she sang as she dropped her gym bag by the door and went straight to Bright Heart.

"Welcome home Gentle," Bright Heart caught her in a big hug and kiss, "you're home early. Are you feeling alright?"

"Never better!" Gentle Heart giggled and stepped back, "Feel this," She flexed her left arm, showing off the new definition,

Bright Heart couldn't help but squeeze her bicep, "Whoa, that's solid." He just stared at his wife, looking her up and down, seeing her new athletic body and how happy she looked.

"And I haven't felt sick or weak at all in a month," she pulled Bright Heart into another hug and kiss.

Bright Heart hugged her back, then started as she reached under his legs and actually lifted him off the ground, holding him in a bridal carry position.

"Wow!" Bright Heart hugged her around her neck.

"I feel fantastic!" Gentle Heart set him down.

"Mama, stron!" the babble came from Eager Heart, who was holding the edges of his playpen and looked up at Gentle Heart.

She cooed and reached down to lift Eager up, he felt as light as a plush toy, "Yes, mama's strong now. I promise I'm going to stay strong for you and everyone else." She kissed her son's wooly head, noting the two tiny stubs of ram horns that were starting to grown in (not a big surprise, Brave Heart had a mane even as a cub). "Want to come see aunty Take Care with me?" she asked.

"Ye!" Eager Heart said.

A few minutes later, Gentle Heart was pushing Eager Heart in a stroller through the Forest of Feelings with Bright Heart at her side until she arrived at the hospital. Take Care was only too willing to see her.

Once she had given Gentle Heart the once over, Take Care delivered her diagnosis, "I gotta say, I'm impressed. You're healthier than I've ever seen you Gentle Heart."

"I know!" Gentle Heart was still smiling, "Now you won't have to check up on me when something starts going around."

Take Care smiled and shook her head, "I probably still will, I still worry. But I'll just call instead ok?"

"That's fine," Gentle Heart got off the table and gave Take Care a big hug, lifting her feet off the ground for an instant which took Take Care by surprise. "I'm gonna keep doing this, I don't want to lose this."

"That's a good idea, just don't overdo it. We already have a whole collection of hyper-fit care bears," Take Care rolled her eyes, "And I'm married to one."

Gentle Heart giggled, "I know. See you later." She turned and left the clinic.

That night Gentle Heart pulled Bright Heart into a tight hug in bed, almost squeezing the air out of him. It was different but they were both happy with how it had worked out.


	31. Something you can Measure

Chapter 31: Something You Can Measure

"Com'on mom!" Shimmering Star Bear stood with his back up against the kitchen doorframe, where height lines for him and Mira were marked upwards along with their ages, starting at 5 for both of them when they were old enough for that to matter to them.

"Hold your horses," Confidence Heart chuckled as she fished a marker out of a can on the kitchen counter where they kept all their pens and pencils. "Alright, let's see how you've grown." She rolled her eyes, Mira had done the same things at his age.

"And there." She stepped back then balked as Shimmers turned around and grinned at the line clearly 5cm higher than the last mark, which was only a month old.

"I'm growing see, mama!" he pointed at the mark.

"Yes, I do," Confidence Heart's voice had turned serious. She smiled down at him quickly, "Now go and play, daddy and I have to talk."

"Ok!" Shimmers didn't seem to have noticed his mom's sudden change of disposition as he ran outside. She waited until he was busy playing and went into the living room where Love Heart was sitting on the couch and just fiddling around on his heartphone. Mira had gone out with Marina and Flair earlier.

"He's doing alright I hope," Love Heart put away his heartphone as Confidence approached.

"Yeah he is, and growing fast, too fast." Confidence Heart all but pulled Love Heart up off the couch and dragged him over to the marked wall. Upon seeing the new mark, they both thought the same thing: a non-magi adolescent Care Bear (around 2-3 years old) could easily grow 5cm in a month, even with the average height of an adult Care Bear being about a meter tall (ears notwithstanding). A 6-year old magi? That was concerning.

As they stepped outside, Love Heart and Confidence Heart were given another reason to worry. "Mama! Daddy! Look what I can do now!" he held out his hands towards them, a small pulse of vibrating air thumping rhythmically in between them.

Confidence Heart winced slightly as the sound hit her ears, "You're already making sound waves like that?" she didn't try covering her ears, too much space and not enough hands.

"That's impressive, but maybe stop before you hurt mama's ears," Love Heart cast a side glance at Confidence Heart.

"Ok," Shimmers let the sound pulse disperse.

"Thank you," Confidence gave a sigh of relief, "Now I think we should go see Take Care. We missed your last checkup." It wasn't a lie. With all the insanity surrounding Futureheart's arrival up to his death taking their son for a checkup had completely slipped their minds, at least as far as they remembered.

"Ok…" Shimmers sounded about as enthusiastic as most children being told they were going to visit the doctor but allowed his parents to take both of his hands and lead him towards Take Care's office.

OoOoO

"I can't explain the cause but he's definitely aging faster, even moreso than a normal Care Bear his age would." Take Care sat with Confidence Heart alone in the privacy room she had set aside for counselling. A soundproof room that would let people vent or share their more private feeling without risk of someone from the outside listening in. At the moment Love Heart was keeping Shimmers entertained in the waiting room after being told he was healthy (which was true).

"But is he in any danger?" Confidence looked over her shoulder at the door for a moment.

"No, at least not physically." Take Care reassured her, "all I know for certain is that this is magical in nature. Call me if anything goes wrong."

"We will, thank you."

Confidence found Love Heart and Shimmers playing with one of those sliding wire toys in the waiting room. Shimmers was the first to look up, "Mama, are you alright?"

"I am, Shimmers," Confidence gave a slight smile, "We should go now."

"Ok," Shimmers and Love Heart stood up. "What's going on?"

"You're growing too fast because of magic," Confidence Heart said as they left the clinic. "Do you know why?"

Shimmers stopped walking and looked up at his parents, both of whom turned to face him. "I made a wish with Wish Bear so I could get stronger and help you fight. Does this mean it's working?" he looked hopeful.

"It might have, but I didn't think Wish could do that." Love Heart's face became somewhat grim. "Let's go see Grandma Life Heart and make sure you're alright."

OoOoO

Life Heart's horn glowed as she swept a magic scan across Shimmering Star. "This is caused by magic. There's reservoir of potent magical energy inside you, Shimmers, and if what I can sense is right then the wish you made resonated with Wish Bear's wishing powers to make it come true, but it can't change you all at once so it's just making you age and gain power faster."

Shimmers seemed to light up at this, "So it's coming true."

"Yes, it is," Life Heart patted her grandson's head, "Now you should make sure you're eating enough to help with this, more calcium and protein to help your bones and muscles develop, and training with your father alright?"

"OK!" Shimmers pumped his fists.

Love Heart and Confidence Heart were standing behind their son and watched at Life Heart turned her gaze towards them. Love Heart sighed, "I'd hoped we could resolve this before you got involved, guess I'll just have to step things up then."

"Well let's get going then, you've got a lot of training to do," Confidence took her son's hand.

"Right, thanks mom," Love Heart said before he left.

OoOoO

Love Heart stood with his arms folded and facing his son, who stood looking up at him. "Alright, normally I'd wait to train you at the usual session tomorrow but we need to take a step up, especially since your sister has graduated. As of this moment I'd advancing you to the rank of Sergeant so we're going to start your weapon training. You know how to creature items with your tummy symbol right?"

"Yes," Shimmers nodded.

"Good. Now I need you envision what you want your weapon to be, but don't just try to create it like you normally do or it will just be a toy. You need to tap into darker impulses to get it to work because it needs to be capable of lethal force when you need it. You need to think of using it to kill." Love Heart narrowed his gaze, his tummy symbol glowed and one of his swords appeared in his hand. "A Magi's weapon is an expression of yourself and a very personal form." He pointed the sword at his son, "It will be an extension of your body once you have trained it so think carefully." He lowered his weapon to watch Shimmers

"Ok," Shimmers gulped then closed his eyes as he did his best to tap into the dark place his father had mentioned. A memory stirred, one buried deep and dark. Shimmering Star couldn't make it out but he felt it, darkness, anger, fear, hatred. The memory faded but the emotions remained and his tummy symbol began to glow. He held out his hands as light poured out into a long shaft. Shimmers opened his eyes and saw what he was holding, a two bladed straight sword with a handle in the middle, the combined length of the weapon making it longer than he was tall. "Wow…" Shimmers held the weapon close.

Love Heart couldn't help but chuckle, "An odd weapon choice but very good. I'm surprised you were able to find the emotion to conjure it so quickly," Love Heart looked down at his sword, "the first time I create mine it was… unexpected."

"How did you do it, daddy?" Shimmers looked up from his new weapons.

"I'll tell you about it when we finish, now get ready to defend yourself," Love Heart dropped his sword, which dissolved as it left his grasp, and conjured a round wooden sword in his hand. "Don't worry, you can't hurt me with that, unless you really want to kill me." Love Heart held the sword towards Shimmers, "Now let's see what you can do on your own." Love Heart stepped forwards and swung at his son, not hard enough to do any serious harm but enough that the young bear had to block the blow, staggering back from the force of the blow.

"Good, now let's go!" Love Heart swung again and kept at it, forcing Shimmers to just barely block every blow, until Love Heart stepped around him and gave him a none-to-gentle whack on his back which almost made him fall over.

"Ow!" Shimmers turned to face Love Heart, who was in a more relaxed stance now.

"Alright, time for some basic swordplay lessons then," Love Heart stepped forwards, "Listen to me and follow my instructions."

"Ok," Shimmers nodded.

OoOoO

Love Heart and Shimmers trained every day following the revelation of what his wish was doing to him, both private lessons and sessions during the normal Magi training, father and son were determined to bring out his full potential since that was what Shimmers wanted. Love Heart could see him growing stronger every day and his skill with his two bladed sword getting more precise to the point that he was scoring hits on his father which forced him to up his game.

After about a month of training, Love Heart told Shimmers to take a day off so they could both recover. His son looked like he had grown two years older in that month, looking about eight years old, and he was eager to run off and show his friends how he was growing.

Love Heart had just made lunch for himself when Confidence Heart returned home, still damp from the shower at the gym. "Hey, Love, where's Shimmers?"

"Gave him the day off and took the day off myself," Love Heart sat down to eat the chicken soup with carrots he had just made, "How was your day?"

"Good, Gentle Heart's going to the gym now." Confidence didn't bother to cook anything, just making a salami sandwich with cheese before she sat down with Love Heart.

"Gentle Heart? Really?" Love Heart stared at Confidence.

"Yeah, she's trying to get healthier. I told her she should start on the treadmill instead to really challenge herself," she took a bite from her sandwich.

"Never would have guessed she'd want to do that," Love Heart drank the last of the soup from his bowl then went to clean it at the sink, "I think it's time for Shimmers to start learning more kinetics, he's really pushing hard to make the most of this…" Love Heart stopped once he had put the bowl and pot away, then just started out the window. His son wasn't anywhere nearby, probably gone to the playground but Love Heart wasn't worried, not about his safety at least.

"Cassy, am I doing the right thing?"

Confidence Heart nearly choked upon hearing his old pet name for her for the first time in years. She had to pound her chest a few times before she swallowed properly. "What?"

"Training our kids like this, pushing them to be Magi like us, soldiers…" Love Heart turned around to show the worry in his eyes. "Am I forcing them to give up their childhoods?"

Confidence left her unfinished sandwich on the table and walked over to Love Heart, "They made the choice, Love, they asked you to train them so they could be Magi."

"But should I have agreed to that?" Love Heart stared down at his feet, "I could have said no so they could have tried to enjoy being children. I'm sorry I need time to think about this."

Love Heart tried to leave only for Confidence Heart to embrace him from behind, "I know what you mean, but we have to let them decide for themselves if they want to."

Love Heart took her hands in his own, "Maybe… all I know is I want this to end so we don't have to face that decision more than we have to." He turned his head and they kissed, "I'm going to lie down and play something for a bit. I'll think about it more later."

OoOoO

The next day, Shimmers was bouncing eagerly on his feet inside the hidden training room in the Hall of Heart that Defender Bear had created years ago, "Are we doing more sword training today?"

Love Heart shook his head, "No, we've done enough of that for the moment, time to focus on kinetics," Love Heart held up his hand and created a field of electricity hovering in the palm of his hand, "You can do sound right? It's time to focus on strengthening that, and maybe working on a second element."

"What should I learn?" Shimmers held up his hand and created a sound pulse.

"First, we need to get you to create a larger sound pulse, one you can use as a weapon." Love Heart intensified the lightning in his hand, "Pour more mana into your element and try to unleash its power. Don't worry, this place is designed to take what you can dish out." He let the lightning disperse.

"Ok." Shimmers out both his hands together and turned to face a wall away from Love Heart. He concentrated and poured energy into his hands, the sound pulse getting bigger and bigger until he unleashed a huge blast of sound that exploded on a wall nearby.

Love Heart yelped and jumped back, hands covering his ears. Shimmers just stared in amazement at the damage caused to the wall, which was rapidly repairing itself. "That was, I mean wow," Love Heart stared at Shimmers, who was in turn staring at his hands.

"I did that?" Shimmers grinned, "So now what?"

Love Heart walked over to his son, "First, I think you need to calm down and relax." He grabbed his sound and started tickling his ribs.

"EEEEEHAHAHAHAHA STOP DADDY!" Shimmers laughed.

Love Heart smiled and let go of his son after a minute, "Good, you just needed to relax, now let's work on refining that." The eight pointed star on Love Heart's head lit up and seven targets appeared along another wall. Defender had showed him how to manipulate the contents of the training room with his unicorn magic, as the room was mostly composed of magic itself it was rather simple. "I want you to hit those targets without hitting the wall behind them, and only one at a time."

Shimmers had recovered from his fit of giggled and nodded with a smile, "OK, daddy." He turned to face the targets and held his hands forwards. He poured too much energy into the blast which destroyed three of the targets.

"Be careful, narrow the focus and only hit one at a time," Love Heart's star lit up again and reassembled the targets.

Shimmers took a deep breath, giggled, then shook his head to regain his focus. This time he compressed the sound pulse into a smaller blast and fired a narrow sound blast at one target, blowing it up without hitting anything else. Shimmers was visibly panting from the effort of keeping it under control but he turned to his father, "Like that?"

"Good," Love Heart clapped his hands together, "Now try that again." He pointed to the six remaining targets.

Shimmers nodded then turned to face the target wall, charging up his sound blast again.


	32. All my Regrets, All my Tomorrows

Chapter 32: All my Regrets, All my Tomorrows

"Mom, I keep hearing voices in my head." Mira had a nervous face as she stood in front of Confidence Heart and her four tails twitched nervously.

Confidence Heart had been sitting on the couch, reading manga on her heartphone, but once she heard her daughter's concern she put the phone away and turned to face her. "What kind of voices?"

"I don't really know, but it's not me or anyone I know. I can't tell what they're saying most of the time. But sometimes…" Mira stared at the floor, hands behind her back, "I can hear them telling me to do things… I can't remember what exactly but…"

Confidence Heart leaned forwards and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "How long have you been hearing voices?"

"Ever since Futureheart came here from the future, I didn't really hear them much at first…"

Confidence Heart stood up, "Don't worry, I'll get help. Just wait here." Confidence Heart walked into the kitchen and pulled out her heartphone.

"Indy, hey can you come over. I have a psionic problem I need your help with."

"Confidence?" Indy sounded somewhat tired, "Ok, I can come over but I'm not the best with psionic problems. Why don't you call Fara or Peppy from Star Fox?"

"Because I trust my brother-in-law more than them," Confidence looked back into the living room where Mira was just sitting on the couch, "I think Mental Heart has gotten into Mira's head. Please just come over and I'll ask for other help if I need it."

"Alright, I'll be right over." Indy hung up.

"Are we going to train more today, daddy?" Shimmering Star followed Love Heart as he passed through the living room. Shimmers looked about 9 years old now.

"Not with me, I have a meeting with John in about ten minutes. Talk to mom, she can help you train." Love Heart nodded to Confidence from where she stood in the kitchen doorway.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," she turned to Shimmers, "Relax, Uncle Indy is coming over, maybe he can train with you."

Shimmer sighed but smiled, "OK mama." He went to sit next to Mira on the couch, "Are you alright, Mira?"

"No, I…" She turned to Shimmers, "I just need to wait for Uncle Indy to get here."

"Why?" Shimmers asked.

"Just wait, he'll be here shortly." Confidence Heart said.

It didn't take long for Independent Bear to arrive. Confidence greeted him at the door.

"Hey Indy, how's it going?"

"I'm alright," he gave her a weak smile then headed for the living room.

Indy stopped at the entrance of the living room and stared, eyes-wide, at Miracle Heart Kitsune and Shimmering Star Bear seated on the couch. Floating above each of them he could see the ghostly image of another Care Bear, a purple bear he didn't recognize over Miracle Heart and above Shimmering Star, "Flash Heart?"

"What?" Confidence Heart stared at Indy as he rubbed his eyes.

Indy blinked and looked again, the ghostly images were gone. "I don't think I've been getting enough sleep lately."

Confidence Heart shook her head then smirked and elbowed Indy in the side, "Too many late nights with Take Care?"

Indy rolled his eyes, "Yes, but not in bed. She's been busy going over those medical treatments we got from Quenos' lab. Her results can help it push through FDA testing a bit faster, and she's learning some more effective ways to develop vaccines. Some nights I have to get up and carry her to bed when she falls asleep at her desk. But enough about that, Mira." He walked towards the couch.

"Yes, Uncle Indy?" Mira turned her attention towards the silver bear as he approached.

"Just stay still," he touched her forehead, "I'm not the best at this but I can tell if someone's attacking your mind." He closed his eyes as he peered into her mind. Everyone waited with baited breath until Indy opened his eyes and took his hand off her brow, "I don't feel anyone in there, or any traces of someone trying to attack your mind."

"I can't hear any voice right now, but what if they come back?" Mira asked.

"Then we'll go to Fara or Peppy, but for now don't worry," Confidence reassured her. "How about we get some training done then, take your mind off things." She turned to Indy, "Want to join us, Shimmers needs a training partner while Love Heart's busy today."

Indy managed a smile, "Sure, what do you say Shimmering Star?"

"Ok," Shimmers and Mira both got up off the couch and followed as Indy and Confidence lead them out of the house.

OoOoO

Love Heart sat with John in the Hall of Hearts as they went over documents he had brought with him and a few Love Heart had picked up from Take Care on the way over.

"So far the testing is going well, Take Care's analysis should cut a year off the testing if we're lucky." John turned to another document. He didn't like working with paper this much when it could be viewed electronically, but he knew this was mostly for security since paper couldn't be electronically hacked and thanks to Bright Heart there was no way anyone could spy on them. "Sadly no progress has been made in finding Andross, No-Heart or Control. Love Heart are you alright?"

"Huh, sorry," Love Heart had been staring off into space, his eyes glazing over as John spoke, "I hear what you're saying and I agree, I can't stop thinking about…" he shook his head, "Sorry. Yes I see, I was hoping you could find more but I think they're using magic to hide themselves."

John pulled the documents into a pile, "I'll go over Take Care's analysis back at HQ, but we have some time to talk if you want." He gave a smile, "I helped look after you when you were a cub, you can talk to me."

Love Heart sighed, "Yeah, I know." He locked his hands together and twiddled his thumbs together, "You remember me as a cub right? Was I any different than the others?"

John blinked and tried to think back to that year at summer camp when he first met the Care Bears. "I vaguely remember, I didn't spend much time babysitting that night, your mom and Grams Bear showed us a lot of what to do. But you were all cubs, other than fur and tummy symbols you were all pretty much the same crying balls of fur we had to feed, bathe and change. Of course a year later you were still a cub and they were grown up, or kids I think?" he paused, "But other than growing up slower you were the same as the rest of them."

Love Heart nodded, "Thank you, I… Can you come with me somewhere?"

"I'd like to, but I should get back to HQ. I'm still on the clock." John gave Love Heart a concerned look and gathered the documents together into a briefcase, "Do you need me to come that badly?"

Love Heart gave a weak smile as he stood up, "No, but thanks anyway. Good luck."

"I remember he was the other green bear," John joked, which got a chuckle out of him and Love Heart.

Love Heart left the Hall of Hearts and walked down the path past all of the houses. He stopped near his house and saw Mira and Shimmers training with Confidence and Indy in their backyard. The sight caused his heart to feel like it was shattering and he walked out out of Care-a-Lot as he started to cry.

Love Heart wiped his eyes as he walked past the Great Fox where it still was still landed in the vast field of clouds next to the Kingdom of Caring. He kept walking until he found himself back at the old Caring Castle.

The old Caring Castle where he should have been raised…

He remembered doing this over a decade ago when he had been similarly doubting himself. The place was still unoccupied and dusty and no one ever came here. Most of the contents of the castle had been moved to the Hall of Heart's a long time ago, except for the old wooden cribs.

Love Heart walked around the nursery and touched each of the cribs as he walked past, finally stopping at the one with his own tummy symbol on the base, faded from years of abandonment but still visibly. Love Heart started to cry again as he slumped to the floor.

"So much lost," he whispered as he sniffled and rubbed his eyes, "and now I'm doing the same thing…"

"Love Heart? What's wrong?"

Love Heart turned around at the voice, "Confidence?" Love Heart rubbed his eyes and looked at the female fennec fox in the Star Fox uniform standing at the room's entrance. "Oh, Fara, sorry, I thought you were my wife."

"I get it, we're both fennecs essentially of the same race and size." Fara walked into the room. "I could sense you walking past and I was off duty so I followed you. What is this place? A nursery?" She looked around the room.

Love Heart stood up and nodded, "It was, for us when we were cubs thirty years ago." Love Heart looked around the room again, "we were brought here from Earth to be raised safely away from Dark Heart and No-Heart, until an incident. We were attacked by Dark Heart, or No-Heart, and he tried to kidnap my mom so we were split up, but me and mom stayed here despite everything. Then… one day, mom was kidnapped by No-Heart and she was used as a power source for a spell of his. Dad and I were lost on earth and…" Love Heart took a deep and shuddering breath. "I don't want to take up all your time so simply, dad adopted Indy on earth and raised us as brothers, then No-Heart found us and tried to kill us but dad sacrificed himself to save us, at the time I didn't think he survived. I was adopted by Confidence Heart's parents and then… something happened to her human brother and… he killed them, the people who looked after us. I was so angry and we spent years just running from the monster he became, so many years… a childhood lost to training, fighting and…" he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, "I'm a terrible father…"

Fara just stared at Love Heart, "What? How are you a terrible father?"

"I'm taking their childhood away," Love Heart clenched his fists as tears began to stream from his eyes, "Mira's only 10 and she's a full Magi now, going on combat and escort missions when she should be playing with her friends or just having fun. Shimmers is six but he made a wish to grow up faster so now he's 9 and he wants to help me fight. He's giving up his childhood just to fight all because of me!" Love Heart's voice had raised to a fever pitch, the eight pointed star on his forehead was glowing as lightning crackled around his body.

Fara had to take a step back. "I don't think that's why. Love Heart calm down!"

Love Heart took a deep shuddering breath as the magical effects around him subsided. "Can I come to the Great Fox for a while. I need to relax away from home."

"Of course." Fara motioned for Love Heart to leave with her, which he obliged.

Love Heart sat in the break room on the Great Fox. It was basically a cafeteria with what Love Heart would describe as 'food replicators' like the ones from Star Trek, though they could only produce food they had programmed into them.

Love Heart was drinking a cup of water, not really wanting anything else and sitting with Peppy. The middle aged hare watched the green bear carefully before he spoke, having heard the bear pour out the same feelings he had given to Fara earlier that day.

Peppy finally spoke, "I think I see where you're coming from, Love Heart."

"You do?" Love Heart looked up at the middle aged hare.

Peppy nodded, "Yes. I have a daughter back home, Lucy. After my wife died I trained Lucy as a pilot just in case she needed to defend herself but I didn't want her to be a mercenary like me. It's a rough life where sometimes you have money to spare and sometimes you can just barely scrape by, and when she tried to join Star Fox I turned her away and asked her to think what she really wanted to do." Peppy smiled and got a faraway look in his eyes, "She's a teacher on Fichina last I checked." His gaze returned to Love Heart, "Are you worried they're just doing it for you?"

Love Heart nodded, "Yeah. I want them to do what they want to do, not just what I do…" Love Heart sighed, "I lost a lot of my childhood to training, then all my adolescence running from a monster… what if… what if the same thing happens to them?"

Peppy nodded, "I know what you're thinking. I saw Lucy learning to be a pilot and I wondered what might become of her if she took after me and followed my path. I know she's happier as a teacher instead of a mercenary. Me, I've lived through enough hard times to know she would struggle, maybe even die, if she followed my path. But then again I wasn't created to be a soldier like you were, at least if I understand how this whole 'Care Bear Magi' thing works. I would talk to another Care Bear if I were you, at least to figure out what you're supposed to do."

"Maybe." Love Heart finished off his water then returned the glass to the replicator to be recycled. "Thanks for talking with me. I need to go." He turned and left without further comment.

Instead of heading home, Love Heart headed for Noble Heart and True Heart's house. He stopped at the front door, not sure if he should knock or ring the doorbell just in case their twins were sleeping. Finally, he gave a few knocks hopefully loud enough to hear.

A moment later, True Heart appeared at the door. "Love Heart? What brings you here?"

"I just needed to talk to someone about parenting." He smirked, "It's weird, you look a bit younger than me now True Heart."

True Heart giggled and ran a hand through her long, multicolored, wavy hair. "Well I still know more about parenting that most people, come in. Valiant Heart and Kind Heart are napping and Noble Heart went to get some groceries."

"Good," Love Heart walked past True Heart to sit on the couch in her living room. True Heart followed suit and sat next to him on the same couch.

"So what did you want to ask me?"

"Am I a bad father?"

True Heart blinked, "What? No of course not! Why would you think that?"

"Because they're training, training to be warriors like me instead of having fun like they should." Love Heart started at his hand in his lap. "Mira is so excited about being a full fledge Magi, and she's only 10, and… am I a bad influence on my friend's kids? My little brother and sister wanting to be magi too? Flair, Meek and Wild are all doing the same thing and they're the same age… Is it because of me? Is it genetic? Are we just going to be warriors and soldiers our entire lives?" Love Heart leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his mind drifted back, "It took me months to figure out how to conjure my swords with any ease but Shimmers created one right away, and I know that takes some desire to hurt the first time. It was still difficult for me until…"

"Until?" True Heart leaned closer.

"Until Dusk Heart…" Love Heart let out a sad sigh, "when I saw him emerge from my old home, Confidence's parent's blood on his hands, possessing her brother's body I just lost it. I pulled out one of my swords and I attacked him with the intent to kill. I hurt him, not badly enough to really hurt him but enough that he had to stop as Indy dragged me away, then we started running that day and never stopped until we came here…" Love Heart sat forwards again. "I can't remember why Shimmers would have that kind of rage in him… am I responsible for it?"

"I don't think you are, Love Heart," True Heart put a hand on his back, "If you're worried you should talk to you children and let them know how you feel."

At that moment the sound of a baby crying came from the baby monitor sitting nearby.

"Excuse me, that's Kind Heart. Feel free to stay if you want." True Heart got up and headed for the nursery.

Love Heart didn't linger and promptly headed for home, albeit at a slow pace.

The question still bounced around in his head, should he be encouraging his kids to be soldiers like him? Should he be dissuading them? What if it was something they genuinely wanted?

When he got home he found Confidence, Shimmers, Mira and Indy inside, rehydrating after a long day. He joined them for supper as Indy left but didn't tell any of them about his day. He couldn't bring it up with them yet but somehow, he'd find a solution.

Love Heart stayed up late that night, the question on his mind keeping him from sleeping. It was almost midnight when Confidence finally came out to see what was wrong.

"Not coming to bed yet?" Confidence sat down next to Love Heart and put an arm around his shoulder.

"No, I just…" Love Heart turned to Confidence, "Are we doing the right thing, training them to be soldiers like us?"

"Our kids, or all the Magi kids?" Confidence sighed, "Maybe, but we've stepped things up since Futureheart, and it did help keep them from being kidnapped by Illyana's mercenaries. I like to think we are. If they didn't want to they'd be complaining more."

"Maybe… I just…"

Confidence put a finger to Love Heart's lips. "Let me stop you right there. Our kids aren't quiet about this sort of thing, if they didn't want to train they would kick up a fit all the time, and once this is all over they can go back to being kids again. Even Shimmers, I mean it's not like he's lost time, just gotten bigger faster." She gave Love Heart a kiss on the cheek, "Trust me, we're doing the right thing here, not a mistake. Just stop worrying about it."

"I'm trying… but…" Love Heart was about to turn away when Confidence grabbed his cheeks and planted a big smooch right on his lips.

Love Heart was started but melted into the kiss and pulled her close until they finally broke apart, Love Heart with a goofy grin on his face, "Thank you."

"Thank me better, in bed." Confidence Heart growled and all but dragged him back to the bedroom.


	33. A Guiding Hand

Chapter 33: A Guiding Hand

Guidance Heart Raccoon couldn't sleep. This was becoming a recurring problem, insomnia. She didn't toss and turn much in her sleep so she just waited until she heard Anger Heart drift off then got up to go warm up some milk. When that didn't work she would dig up an old anime DVD or switch to a stream service and watch a few episode of a favorite anime or an anime movie.

An hour into 'Ninja Scroll' she felt Anger Heart sit down next to her. "Fourth nights in a row. What's wrong, dear?"

Guidance fumbled with the empty milk mug, "Too much on my mind, I can't stop thinking."

"What about?" Anger Heart turned to face her, leaning sideways on the couch.

Guidance set the empty mug down and paused the movie. "I don't want to keep being a Magi."

Anger Heart started and nearly fell forwards, "What?"

"I don't want to be a soldier anymore, not after this ends." Guidance Heart sighed. "I'm not much of a fighter, actually I think I've gotten worse lately and I don't like fighting, especially after what happened in Paradise Valley…" Guidance looked down at her hands, then clenched them to stop them from shaking. "I'll talk to Love Heart tomorrow but I…"

Anger Heart leaned over and hugged her. "It's alright. Do what you have to do, and if Love Heart says no I'll convince him otherwise. We didn't ask to be soldiers, Germaine, and if you don't want to fight you don't have to."

Guidance was stunned, hearing her human name for the first time in years, then hugged back. "Thank you, Alex." After a moment they let go and stood up. Guidance yawned and stretched. "I think I can sleep now."

Anger Heart watched her go for a moment then plopped back down on the couch, "Now I can't sleep." He sighed and started up the movie again.

OoOoO

Guidance Heart sat with Love Heart in the leader's office in the Hall of Hearts. Love Heart sighed, "You know, I keep trying to live the 'retired life' and I keep getting dragged out for more work." He gave a weak smile, "So what do you want to talk about, Guidance?"

"I want to stop being a Magi." She took a deep breath and stared at the desk in between them, "I can stick it out until No-Heart is defeated but after that I want to do something else, something more like the other Care Bears."

Love Heart was quiet for several seconds before he spoke again, "If that's what you want, then go ahead."

Guidance raised her head to look him in the eyes, "Really?"

Love Heart nodded, "Yes, really."

Guidance leaned back, stress draining form her as she did so. "What if everyone freaks out, like with Patient Heart?"

Love Heart sighed. When Patient Heart Liger had told the rest of the Care Bear Family that he wanted to be a veterinarian instead of helping kids, a lot of them had freaked out and there had been a small fight over his decision, with some even blaming his parents for his attitude. Love Heart had sympathized with his decision, as the Magi themselves stood apart from the rest of the Care Bear Family, but they had stayed out of what was a family matter.

"If they have a problem then I'll set them straight. We were chosen for this but we didn't ask for this." Love Heart smiled, "I'm more like Pace than everyone else, I chose to step back to be a father."

Guidance Heart managed a small giggle, "Right. Sometimes I forget you're second generation."

Love Heart chuckled, "So what do you want to do when this is all over."

"Well…" Guidance Heart weaved her fingers together, "I remember when I was living on earth, I know a lot of teenagers were lost and looking for their way in life, and with how Pace was trying to find his own way… I think I want to help them, be a guidance councillor for teenagers and older kids. Kids who don't just need day-to-day help but help finding out what they want to do with the rest of their lives."

As she spoke, Love Heart stood up and walked around the table to put a hand on her shoulder, "I think that's a great idea, Guidance. When this is over, when I'm sure we have a future to look forwards to, I'll try to find something to set you up on Earth with."

"Thank you." As Guidance was about to leave, Love Heart spoke up which made her stop.

"I just want to ask, please stay with us until the fight is over. I don't want to stand in your way, Lieutenant, but I still need your help."

"I will." Guidance felt her hands start to shake, "I'm scared, I can't stop feeling scared after what happened in Paradise Valley, but I'll hold the course like I said I would."

"I know. Sorry, I'm just scared too, scared there won't be a future for any of us," Love Heart said. They stood still for a minute before Guidance left and Love Heart sat back down.

"I wonder… would my kids want to do something like that if I had raised them differently?" he sighed, "Guidance, I think I might need your help after this too…"


	34. A Much Needed Rest

Chapter 34: A Much Needed Rest

Independent Bear entered the room on the Great Fox that had been set aside for psionic training, only to find Fara already there with Tenderheart Bear, Soulful Heart Fox and Aqua Bear.

"Is this a bad time?" Indy asked, which got Fara's attention.

"Somewhat. Is it important?" Fara Phoenix-McCloud turned to face the silver bear.

"Sort of, it will just take a minute."

"I can spare a minute," Fara turned to her three students, "Just keep focusing and I'll be back soon."

Fara faced Indy in the corridor, "Alright, what is it?"

"How much psionic combat do you know?" Indy asked.

"Not as much as Futureheart taught you." Fara folded her arms, "I understand what you're asking but honestly I think your regular training with the other Care Bear Magi would be more beneficial than what I can teach."

Indy smiled, "Thanks, I needed to hear that." He briefly grasped her shoulder then turned and left.

Fara returned to the room only to be greeted by Soulful Heart. "Excuse me, Fara, but I've reached my limit for the day. I need to go home."

"Alright," Fara stepped aside to let the fox pass. He had potential but it took him a long time to get comfortable with his new awareness, that and she sensed part of him was disheartened when the much younger Aqua Bear surpassed him in their training.

"I should go too. I have a wife and son to get home to," Tenderheart passed Fara. "Maybe a another after we finish this," he smirked.

"Alright, good luck, Tenderheart." Fara turned back to Aqua, who was still sitting on the floor. "You don't have to stay if they've left."

'_I want to stay. This is getting fun!'_ Fara was a bit startled to hear the voice in her head.

"You're progressing fast," Fara sat down in front of him, "I didn't expect any of you to be capable of telepathic communication this early."

Aqua opened his eyes, "I can hear things too. Everyone's thoughts but it's all jumbled up, can't tell them apart."

"It'll take time to properly filter the thoughts from each other, but don't go reading your friends' thoughts without permission." Fara cautioned, "Try to focus on my thoughts, pick them out from the rest."

Aqua scrunched up his face and stared at Fara. "You're thinking about… Fox."

Fara nodded, "Yes. Now what am I thinking about?"

"Strawberries."

This continued for almost ten minutes until Fara called a halt, "That very good progress, Aqua, but keep in mind not everyone's mind will be that easy to read, if at all. I opened my mind so you could practise separating out specific thoughts. Also remember other psychics will be able to tell when you're reading their mind and will try to fight back."

"Is that dangerous?" Aqua stood up.

"It can be if they're more powerful than you." Fara said, "I wouldn't try reading Mental Heart's mind if that's what you're asking. That's it for today though, feel free to practise on your own."

"OK," Aqua bear left and headed for home.

Lonesome was feeding Carecub when Aqua got home. She smiled up at him, "So how were the psychic lessons?"

Aqua smiled then sat down next to her on the couch and gave her a kiss, _'they're going great! I can talk to you with just my mind now.'_ The voice echoed inside Lonesome's head.

"Whoa!" Lonesome pulled back, "That's great. So what else can you do?"

"I can read minds, but mostly it's like hearing a bunch of people all talking over each other at a party. Fara's teaching me to focus on one voice at a time," Aqua touched the side of his head.

"So what am I thinking about?" Lonesome smirked at Aqua.

"Hmm…" Aqua stared into her eyes, trying to see what she was thinking about, "Me, and our second child." He placed his hands on her tummy symbol. "I can tell Carecub's happy, and hungry."

"Not much longer." Lonesome lifted Carecub up to burp him over her shoulder. "There, now you should have a nap." She stood up and carried Carecub to his crib.

Aqua and Lonesome leaned over their son to watch him sleep for a few minutes beore they retreated from the nursery.

"Have you bee practising anything else?" Aqua asked.

"Been trying, but Carecub keeps me busy almost all day so I don't have much time to train with weapons or magic." She and Aqua plopped down on the couch. "I tried calling Redemption but she's been studying all day lately, I think she needs a break."

"Yeah. Maybe I can try to hear what she's thinking." He reached out into Care-a-Lot with his mind and tried to pick out Redemptionheart's thoughts from the rest of the Care Bears. Words and thoughts flooded into his head and a moment later he plopped back, his eyes spiraling, "So many thoughts! Too much!"

Lonesome patted the top of her mate's head, "Maybe don't try to hear everyone at once. Why don't you just go see her and try there?"

"OK, once the world stops spinning." Aqua said.

A short time later, Aqua had arrived at Redemptionheart's house. He knocked on the door but when there was no answer for a few minutes he just walked in. Aqua wrinkled his nose at the smell but easily followed the scattered thoughts to Redemptionheart's room. He found the grey and purple bear leaning over a notebook amidst a huge stack of study material, and she didn't even register his presence.

Redemption almost jumped out of her seat when she felt Aqua's hand on her shoulder and spun around in the desk chair to face him. "Aqua? Why are you here?"

"Me and Lonesome are worried about you." Aqua waved a hand in front of his face, "It kinda smells like Illyana's dungeon in here."

"Right, I guess I should stop for a shower." Redemption stood up and stretched.

"Then you're coming home with me, you should rest and see our son." Aqua insisted.

Redemption smiled, "Alright, just let me get cleaned up."

Redemption had to admit, it was nice to get out of the house for a while, but she'd have to spend a day cleaning soon. She sat down gratefully on Aqua and Lonesome's couch, "Thank you, I needed someone to pull me away from that for a day." She turned to Lonesome who was carrying Carecub in her arms, the cub not having wanted to nap for very long. "Your cub is so cute," she reached out a tickle the cub's nose, who sneezed in response.

"And we have another on the way," Lonesome patted her tummy symbol.

"So you two don't regret having a cub so young?" Redemption asked.

"Nope," Aqua smiled as he sat next to his mate and son, "We'd still raise him on that island if we weren't here."

"That's good," Redemptionheart sighed which turned into a yawn as she leaned back, "So tired," she muttered.

Lonesome stood up to try and get Carecub to go to sleep and Aqua leaned towards Redemption, "You should relax."

Redemption yawned again then turned to Aqua. "I'm trying."

Aqua grinned, "Let me help." He suddenly tickled Redemption under her arm.

"EEEHEEHEEHEE!" Redemption shot awake and squirmed away, "Stop that!"

"You sound like you're enjoying it," Aqua pounced forwards and started tickling Redemption's pink tummy.

"AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO STOHOHOHOP!" Redemption tried to push Aqua Bear's hands off of her but she was too tired and she only managed to push one hand off three times.

"There, you're relaxing already," Aqua giggled as he tickled her sides.

"EEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!" Redemption tried to get up, only for her shoulders to be grabbed and pulled back down onto the couch.

"Sorry, you're not going anywhere." Lonesomeheart snickered as she started tickling the inside of Redemption's neck.

Carecub giggled from where Lonesome had strapped him into a high chair and clapped as he watched his parents tormenting Redemptionheart.

"AHAHAHAHA NO STOHOHOP PLEAHEAHEAHEASE!" Redemption tried to squirm away until she was on her side with Aqua tickling her feet while Lonesome held up one arm and tickled underneath it. "EEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!"

This went on for half an hour before Aqua and Lonesome let Redemption go. The grey and purple bear panted and giggled as her two friends finally stopped. Part of her had been scared and had been transported back to her time under Claws' control, but her friend's fingers weren't nearly as sharp and it had felt fun.

Redemption sighed, "I feel better. Thank you." She giggled and yawned, "but I need some sleep."

"Then sleep here, though we might wake you up when it's time for supper," Aqua tickled her feet one last time before he tossed a blanket over her. Redemption giggled then curled up and fell sleep on the couch.


	35. Battle Preparations

Chapter 35: Battle Preparations

With the windows made opaque there was no natural light in the quarters on the Great Fox. Fox Pheonix-McCloud lay half-asleep in bed, his arms wrapped around Fara from behind. "Good morning," Fox whispered in her ears.

"Does it have to be?" Fara buried her face in her pillow. No matter how often it happened she would never like waking up this early shipboard time.

"Not right away," Fox gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I could lie here a while."

Fara sighed, "Thank you."

They lay in silence for a few minutes before Fox spoke again, "How are your students lately?"

"Doing fine, Tenderheart and Soulful's progress is typical, but Aqua's excelling. Can't say for Indy, Futureheart taught him everything I could." Fara mumbled, "How about that new fighter from the future?"

"It's working, at least Slippy doesn't have to tear it apart to learn how it works," Fox smiled though his eyes were still closed, "When we get back I have to look up those two who joined us in that bad future. Miyu and Faye."

Fara finally started to stir and slowly pulled herself out of Fox's embrace so she could sit up, "Think they'll believe you when you tell them you're looking for them because they joined you in the future?" She stretched.

Fox chuckled as he rolled over and out of bed, "I might leave that part out."

Once they were showered and dressed, Fara and Fox went their separate ways with a kiss. Fara went to her lesson with Aqua that day while Fox headed to the bridge. Even while they weren't in flight he still checked in with Rob to make sure the ship was functioning properly. After the check-in he went down to the hangar.

"How's the analysis going Slippy?" Fox walked over to Slippy's work area.

"Future me and Bright Heart took thorough notes, I pretty much have it all memorized. I might be able to create some particle beam guns for the Arwings with our supplies." Slippy tapped the blueprint picture on his device then switched to the image of the Arwing Mk V, "As for the Mk V itself, we're not making any of these without a full foundry. For now, we're stuck with the one Futureheart brought back."

Fox turned from then work area to where the fighter from the future was parked in the hangar. "Either me or Falco needs to fly that thing when the time comes," he walked towards the machine.

"Does that mean you're going to let me fly it?" Falco had been standing on the other side of the fighter, "It's a great machine and apparently I was the first test pilot in the future."

Fox smirked at his old friend, "Maybe, but you have a kid you'll want to be around for."

Falco folded his wing-arms, "Which is why I should fly the ship that has the best chance of coming back in one piece."

Fox rolled his eyes, "We'll see, Falco. For now, I have to finish my rounds."

Falco made a clicking noise with his beak, "Yeah we'll see, that I'm the best choice." He still gave the best smile he could. His and Fox's rivalry had its ebbs and flows but for now he'd wait and see.

After taking a few minutes for a run in the simulator, Falco headed back his quarters. Inside he found his wife Katt playing with their infant daughter Kalico, bouncing her on her knee. Katt looked up at Falco as he walked in, "Taking a short day?"

"Not much to do," Falco sat down next to Katt on the bed, "How are you holding up?"

"Could be better, but I'm here," she passed Kalico to Falco, who giggled and gave him a hug.

"You don't mind being benched?" Falco stroked his daughter's blue furred head.

Katt leaned back, "I won't say that, but I can handle it. We talked about it when Fox put me on maternity leave, and even if I don't need to feed her I think I've adjusted."

"When we get back to Lylat I'll take some leave and you can get back in the cockpit," Falco leaned over to nuzzle her with a beak.

Katt gave him a kiss, "Thank you, Falco."

"Just promise me you'll stay in Care-a-Lot if we go into battle," Falco looked down at Kalico who just smiled back up at him, "I don't want any chance you'll go down with the ship."

"Alright. I will," Katt sighed, "but you're definitely taking time off to look after her when we get back to Lylat."

"Alright, I will," Falco nodded.

OoOoO

Peppy Hare had decided to go up to the command bridge to review all the data they had received from Earth about the search for Andross. There wasn't much to go over.

Fox re-entered the bridge and turned to see Peppy going over the data, "Find anything new, Peppy?"

"Nothing, just trying to do something productive." Peppy turned off the screen.

"You could go to visit the Care Bears, not much we can do until something comes up," Fox took a seat in the main command chair.

"I have, nice place but I just don't feel like it." Peppy turned to Fox, "Any plan for when we get back to Lylat?"

"Keep up the mercenary business, with this whole new 'first contact' thing we'll probably have a few escort contracts to take on and keep an eye on Star Wolf." Fox sighed, "But at some point I'm going to have to retire, or at least my father-in-law is and Fara's going to take over the family business."

"Really, plan on being a stay-at-home dad?" Peppy gave a slight grin.

Fox chuckled, "As funny as it is to imagine, yeah I will be. We're not going to have kids until I give up the mercenary life."

"Didn't stop Falco."

"I'm not Falco, and Katt doesn't have a multi-planet business empire to inherit," Fox smiled, "But not for a while. I might have some new recruits to find when we get back. So what about you Peppy?"

"I'll stick with you for a while but I don't know how much longer," Peppy sighed, "I'm not old yet but I'm slowing down and I want to spend more time with Lucy. Maybe get a desk job with the Cornerian Military."

"You, an officer?" Fox asked.

"Hey, at my age it's the best option I have," Peppy turned to leave the bridge.

"Don't worry, we've done this long enough but we can't do it forever." Fox turned to look out the front windows, "I just hope we can find Andross soon."


	36. Looking to the Stars

Chapter 36: Looking to the Stars

Sweet Heart Pegasus stepped through the portal to Pegasus Falls and smiled at the two guards who were posted there. "Hello."

"Greetings, sister Sweet Heart." They both dipped their head respectfully. Sweet Heart couldn't help but giggle. Most of the Pegasus had accepted the Care Bear Family as friends but there were always a few outliers who didn't trust them, yet they always treated her well because of her unique status as a Care Bear Cousin (technically Magi), a Pegasus and the daughter of a unicorn. If anyone objected to her coming and going they never said so out loud.

"What bring you here," the second guard asked.

"Going to see Renegade and Nova," Sweet Heart spread her wings, "Something I need to talk to them about." She launched off into the sky.

Pegasus Falls was always beautiful from above, maybe Sweet Heart only thought of it that way because she was a pegasus too? Maybe that was why the air here always felt so much more energizing than anywhere on Earth or the Kingdom of Caring. No one else ever talked about it like this so maybe it was just her. Sweet Heart grinned and did a spin roll in mid air followed by three summersaults before she dove down towards the border of the arctic region.

Renegade had found he didn't like to sleep in the pure cold of the arctic region, and while he still trained under White Fang, he and his mate Nova decided to sleep in the forest adjacent to the arctic region. It was late afternoon but the two were curled up in their nest, something the two of them had gotten used to because their magic training started early in the morning and often left them exhausted. Even though they didn't have as many lessons these days it had become a ritual for them and they enjoyed the quiet chance to rest.

Sweet Heart's landing nearby caused them to raise their heads. Nova was the first to spot her, "Sweet Heart!" She jumped up, knocking Renegade out of their nest as he tried to stand up, and going to nuzzle Sweet Heart.

Sweet Heart nuzzled back and giggled, "Thanks, Nova." She gave the muscular unicorn the once over, "Getting stronger?"

"Every day," Nova stepped back and turned to see Renegade getting to his feet, "Sorry, Ren."

Renegade chuckled as he got to his feet, "I'm fine. So what brings you here, Sweet Heart?"

"I just wanted to talk, about space." Sweet Heart looked up at the sky. None of them were sure if there was a 'ceiling' to the falls, it didn't really matter if there was and few were curious enough to try and find out.

"Ahh," Renegade nodded, "You've heard about our plans?"

"Briefly, I wanted to talk to Soulful Heart about it but he's been kinda reclusive lately, even for him." Sweet Heart scuffed the ground with a hoof, "I tried to talk to him when I returned a library book the other day and he just ignored me. I don't know if it's something I did or if he's just shutting people out."

"Don't worry about it," Nova rolled her eyes, "If he doesn't want to talk to you without telling you, it's his problem and his loss. So you're thinking about travelling to space?" Nova segued into the new topic in hopes of getting Sweet Heart's spirits up.

Sweet Heart smiled, "I am. I want to see what's out there and…" Sweet Heart took a deep breath, "I want to go somewhere where I'm not under my brother's shadow."

"Are you having some problem with Love Heart?" Renegade asked.

"Not a problem, sort of, I mean," Sweet Heart sighed, "No one compares me to him but I still feel like I have to live up to his example." She held up her hands, conjuring small balls of earth, wind, water and fire then quickly dissipated them, "I can fight, I'm going to fight to save the world but I want to make my own way somewhere no one knows me." She gave a contented smile.

Renegade nodded, "I sort of know what that's like, my sister is the Queendame and I'm White Fang's top apprentice."

"The only one he considers worth anything," Nova rolled her eyes.

Renegade smiled and nuzzled his mate, "True, but I still feel like I'm in their shadows some time, and I want to try something with the portals."

"What kind of thing?" Sweet Heart turned to Renegade.

"Well I noticed that the distance between the portals in the falls doesn't correlate to the distance between them on earth, at all. I thought they might be but they can be any distance apart on either realm." Renegade spread his wings and create the image of a circular portal, "I'm going to talk to White Fang and try to open a portal between the fall and somewhere in the Lylat system. If we can create a portal that goes that far it could change so much about how travel works."

"You're awfully optimistic about anyone allowing that," Nova said, then smiled, "But hey, no one thought could be stronger than a pegasus."

"Why don't we ask Fauna?" Sweet Heart had already spread her wings, "If she and Blue approve then we could take this to White Fang and work with him on this."

"Not a bad idea," Renegade waves his wings to dispel the image he had created, "But first we need to make sure Star Fox can take us with them."

Sweet Heart save a brief two-fingered forehead salute, "Leave that to me." Without another word she took off and back towards the portal.

"Well as long as she's ready to go, let's to see Fauna now," Nova cast a spell to turn herself into an eagle. Renegade laughed then took off into the sky with Nova alongside him.

As Renegade and Nova walked through the entrance to the royal caves, a red blur charged towards them. Renegade tried to dodge aside but was knocked down and pinned by Ruby in her tiger form.

"Ha! Gotcha uncle Ren!" the red tiger gave a wide grin.

"Yes, ow, you did," Renegade tried to smile, difficult with Ruby's paw on his chest.

Nova rolled her eyes and carefully pushed Ruby off Renegade with a hoof, "You're getting better. Maybe try me next time if you're up for it."

"I like to think she's smarter than that," Blue came trotting towards the entrance, "Renegade, Nova, what brings you here?"

Renegade got to his hooves, "We need to talk to you about something. Is Fauna home?"

"I'm here!" Fauna called from the living area.

Arrow was seated with his mother on the rug, both in their true forms, when the other four equines entered the room.

"So, little brother, what do you need to talk about?" Fauna stood up to face him as they trotted in.

"As soon as the world is saved, we're going to ask to leave with the Star Fox Team to the Lylat system." Renegade stood firm.

Fauna and Blue just stared at Renegade for a moment, then spoke simultaneously, "WHAT?!"

Nova stepped forwards, "We've been thinking about it for ages, and we want to see what space is like, and other planets. We won't get another chance like this so once this all blows over we're going with them!"

"And if things work out I want to try and open a portal to the falls from somewhere in Lylat," Renegade added, "I need to talk to White Fang but if it works we could have a direct link across the galaxy."

Blue was the first to regain his composure, "You've given this a lot of thought."

"We have, and who knows what this will lead to," Nova grinned.

"Fauna, are you alright?" Renegade turned to his sister.

"Yeah, just still processing. I mean my little brother going across the galaxy, it's just," she shook her head, "I want to forbid you from doing this."

"If you don't want me to go…" Renegade was cut off by Fauna.

"Yeah, like that would work. Look this sounds scary because I might never see you again but I can't just keep you locked up in the Falls," Fauna sighed.

"Is Uncle Renegade going away?" Arrow's voice reminded them that the two foals were still in the room.

"I might be," Renegade said, "It's an adventure for me and Aunt Nova."

"The adventure of a lifetime, which is a big deal for immortals." Nova turned to look at Ruby and Arrow.

"The bigger challenge is going to be convincing White Fang to open a portal like that. How will you even communicate across planets?" Blue asked. None of them had tried to communicate over a distance like that.

"Aurora and I can cook something up," Nova tossed her mane, "I think Life Heart can help too. Once we convince White Fang the rest will be easy."

"Maybe not that easy, but the forces of magic are definitely more flexible," Renegade's remark got a chuckle out of everyone present.

OoOoO

"You want to go into space?" Brave Heart was the only leader on duty at the Hall of Hearts. Tenderheart too busy with fatherhood stuff and Love Heart was leading another Magi training session.

Sweet Heart stood with her arms behind her back and wings folded, "I do. I want to go with Star Fox when they return to Lylat."

Brave Heart just stared at Sweet Heart for a moment, "I can give you permission but don't you have to talk to Star Fox about that?"

"I will. I just needed to talk to you first," Sweet Heart said.

"Have you told tour brother, or anyone else?"

"Not yet, but I will. Thanks Brave Heart," Sweet Heart gave a small salute then turned and left.

Sweet Heart marched deliberately towards the Great Fox where it sat. It didn't take much time to get in to see Fox, he was all too willing to see most members of the Care Bear Family, just in case they had information about Andross.

Fox was on the bridge when Sweet Heart found him and he listened to her request to join them.

"…I know I'm not a diplomat but I want to do this." Sweet Heart stood firm in the 'at ease' position.

"I see. I mean," Fox took a deep breath, "I won't say no just yet but we don't know what's going to happen. When the fighting is over I'll see about finding a place for you on the ship."

Sweet Heart grinned, "Thanks Fox. Gotta go, there might be a couple more passengers joining you!" she turned and left with Fox a bit surprised.

Sweet Heart was heading back to the portal to Pegasus Falls when she ran into Renegade and Nova going the other way. "Hey, how did your talk with Fauna go? What about White Fang?"

Nova sighed, "Fauna and Blue were understanding and gave us permission."

Renegade nodded, "White Fang was another story, I did get him to agree but it took a lot of convincing to let me try to make a portal once we get there. I just wanted to tell you because I have a lot of preparations to make before we leave. It could take weeks to figure out how to get the portal to work."

"And I need to talk to Life Heart so we can create a communication spell that reaches that far away," Nova added.

Sweet Heart just grinned, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out, I promise."


	37. Growing Up, Growing Younger

Chapter 37: Growing Up, Growing Younger

At only four months old, Noble Heart and True Heart's twin cubs, Kind Heart Bear and Valiant Heart Horse, were already toddler aged by human standards. Noble Heart and True Heart watched their children at play, Valiant Heart playing with letter blocks while Kind Heart was playing with her stuffed animals.

True Heart checked the wall clock then looked down at her children, "Alright, you two, I think it's nap time."

"But mommy, I'm not…" Valiant Heart's protest was cut off by his yawn. Kind Heart was about to say something else when she caught Valiant Heart's yawn.

Noble Heart chuckled and carefully picked up his daughter, "You're just as sleepy as your brother. Let's go to bed."

"Ok daddy," Kind Heart mumbled. The warmth of her father's fur helped lull her to sleep as True Heart picked up her twin brother.

It was the work of a moment to put the two down for their nap, both still shared the same bed and cuddled each other on instinct. Noble Heart and True Heart watched them sleep, Noble Heart putting an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"They're so precious," True Heart whispered.

"They're growing up so fast, maybe not as fast as our first children." Noble Heart smiled as they turned to leave them to their nap.

They sat on the couch together, True Heart leaning up against Noble Heart. "Is this too easy? I mean I remember struggling a lot more with the Care Bears and Cousins."

"Well there were over thirty of them and only five of us, and now there's one of us for each of them," Noble Heart chuckled, "Not to mention we're younger than we were back then."

True Heart giggled and turned sideways until she lay with her head in Noble Heart's lap, her long wavy hair spread out beneath her and over the edge of the couch. "I still feel so energized lately!"

"Me too, even the kids can't wear me out." Noble Heart gently lifted True Heart's head up so they could kiss.

True Heart giggled again as she lay back down, playing with the Radiant Heart Crystal that always hung from a gold chain around her neck, "So should we do when this is all over?"

"Other than raise the kid you mean?" Noble Heart chuckled, "Well we're not going back to leadership, we're too young now." This caused both of them to burst out laughing.

"Heeheehee, oh my stars! It's going to be so strange becoming just ordinary Care Bears when we start taking missions again," True Heart had a hard time getting her giggles under control.

"We don't have to do that," Noble Heart ran a hand through her hair, "We could enjoy our retirement with the cubs."

"Maybe we could go on a trip and see the world. We have enough savings and the cloud cars," True Heart got a far away look in her eyes.

"With or without the kids?"

"With if they want to come, or we can wait a few years until they grow up and go alone." True Heart said.

"Or we could just keep the family growing," Noble Heart carefully shifted and rolled over until he was lying on top of True Heart.

"N-Noble Heart!" True Heart blushed fiercely, "You mean now?"

"Maybe," Noble Heart gave a seductive grin, "We could still go, and take the twins and whichever other kids join us along the way. I love being a dad and I know you love being a mom, without the weight of the world on our shoulders anymore."

"Oh Noble Heart," True Heart's face was still red as she pulled Noble Heart's face down and into a deep kiss.

A glow from between them cause them to pull apart to see that the Radiant Heart Crystal had lit up. "Oh my stars!" True Heart touched the crystal, feeling a painless jolt of brilliant energy.

Noble Heart touched it, feeling the same jolt pass through him, "I thought the crystal's power was spent."

"It's reacting to our love, Noble Heart," True Heart gave a serene smile, "but why only now?"

"Maybe our love is just that pure and strong," Noble Heart gave True Heart a kiss on the neck, "I know I feel for you more than I have in years. Valiant and Kind have brought us closer than we've been since we first brought the cubs to the Kingdom of Caring." Noble Heart rested his head on True Heart's chest, nuzzling up against her.

"Oh- Oh my!" True Heart shuddered all over and kissed Noble Heart's head, "I feel it, so warm and pure."

"Me or the crystal?" Noble Heart teased as he stroked her cheek, "You feel warm and pure to me too."

"Noble Heart! My stars!" It was as if the crystal was taking their love and pouring it back into them stronger than before as Noble Heart was pulled back up, "Yes! Please! Now!"

"Of course," Noble Heart hovered above her, "You are my true love!" He dove into a powerful kiss.

They lay together, snuggled up on the couch with the glowing crystal between them. Both giggled happily as they kissed each other.

"We might have an extra passenger on our world trip," True Heart whispered.

"That means we'll have as many as Regal Heart, if we count Hugs and Tugs," Noble Heart nuzzled under her chin.

"I do. I wish we could have been here but they grew up so well. I'm proud of them." As True Heart spoke the glow from the crystal subsided from bright light to a more moderate tone. Both looked at the heart shaped crystal to find its once dull surface now glowing and shifting through every color of the rainbow.

True Heart toyed with the heart carefully, "It's beautiful."

"So are you," Noble Heart gave her a kiss.

True Heart giggled again and nuzzled their noses together, "And you're so handsome. I didn't think being young like this would give us so much energy."

Noble Heart's ear twitched and he carefully got off the couch, "Sounds like the twins are waking up."

"They're restless," True Heart sighed happily as she stood up, using her stare to clean the couch. "Let's go see what they want to do."


	38. Melancholy's Purpose

Chapter 38: Melancholy's Purpose

The high school gym's weight room had become something of a sanctuary for Melancholy Bear when she lived on earth, a place she could go to work out and keep people from assaulting her while the teachers looked the other way from "the freak". While she felt more accepted in the Kingdom of Caring old habits died hard and she sought out the gym regularly to work out the new batch of frustrations that had cropped up since she joined.

Melancholy had her gym bag slung over her shoulder as she stepped into the Care-a-Lot gym, only to freeze half-way through the front door when she saw Gentle Heart Lamb running on one of the treadmills.

Gentle Heart turned briefly as the door opened and did her best to smile without slowing down. Melancholy had wanted to turn and leave but the lamb's smile calmed her nerves and she passed through the gym to the changing room. It was odd that she didn't feel like changing unless she was out of sight, as she had adopted the common Care Bear practise of not bothering with clothes, but that oddity was barely a passing thought as she emerged from the changing room in a workout tank-top and shorts just as Gentle Heart stepped off the treadmill.

"Hello, Melancholy," she waved.

"Hi, umm," Melancholy paused for a moment, "Gentle Heart?"

"That's me," she walked over to the dark blue bear.

"I didn't remember you being this… buff," Melancholy cast a glance over Gentle Heart toned muscles.

Gentle Heart smiled and flexed an arm, "I wasn't always. It was after my son was born, I was so exhausted and so tired of being weak and frail that I decided to do something about it."

"I see. I just do it because… well because looking strong kept people from wanting to hurt me." Melancholy walked over to an elliptical machine, "Now I just… I need to be stronger."

"Is something wrong?" Gentle Heart followed Melancholy as she started her routine.

"Sort of… maybe…" Melancholy just stared at the machine's panel as she started. Gentle Heart didn't want to interrupt her breathing so got up on the same treadmill and started running again.

Half an hour later they both stepped down from their cardio and moved to the weight machines.

"Want to talk about it?" Gentle Heart picked up two of the free weights.

Melancholy lay down on the bench press, "Maybe when I'm done. I just need to unwind first." Gentle Heart nodded, better not to disrupt their breathing.

Two hours of exercise later, Gentle Heart and Melancholy retreated to the change room to shower.

"Want to talk now?" Gentle Heart asked as they stepped into the shower. There were only two private stalls for those who were shy and the rest of the showerheads were in open space.

"Ok," Melancholy turned on the taps and sighed in relief as the hot water cascaded over her. "I just feel like I'm not really doing my part up here."

Gentle Heart was about to reply when Melancholy continued, "I go to training with General Love Heart every day and I see myself falling farther and farther behind everyone. I just barely learned mana control and I finally figured out my element, darkness, and got promoted to Corporal, but everyone else is so far ahead. Even Lonesome is a Sergeant and she's pregnant, Shimmers is just a kid and he's already a Warrant officer," Melancholy hadn't event started to clean herself and she started to cry, her tears mixing with the hot water as it drained away.

Gentle Heart almost immediately pulled Melancholy into a hug. "Just let it out, I'm here."

Melancholy only broke down harder and leaned into Gentle Heart as she cried into her shoulder. Gentle Heart was glad she had kept up her exercise or she might have collapsed under the younger bear's weight, as it was she was able to support Melancholy until her sobs dwindled to minor sniffles.

Gentle helped Melancholy to steady herself on her feet, "Feel better?"

"A bit but… I just feel… useless… or that I was just brought here to be a tool…" Melancholy wiped her eyes, trying to get the tears out despite the water still falling around them. "And my emotion..." she looked down at the crying blue star that was her tummy symbol, "It's something no one wants." She slid down until she was on her knees.

"You're not useless," Gentle Heart crouched down and helped dry her eyes, futile as that was in the shower, "and sadness isn't a bad emotion, just ask Grumpy Bear and Anger Heart. People might not like being sad, but if you bottled it up then I wouldn't have known. You just need to let it out some times, get the weight of the world off your shoulders." She smiled, "And don't compare yourself to the other magi, all of them had training from a much younger age. Just because you're starting later doesn't mean you won't get it. Soulful Heart had trouble on caring missions for a long time but now he knows what to do."

"But there's this end battle everyone's preparing for and I…" Melancholy brought her hands in front of her, "I don't think I'll be able to help at all… and that's all I was brought here for."

"Don't you ever think that!" Gentle Heart's sudden shout startled Melancholy. Gentle Heart took Melancholy's head in one hand as she dropped to her knees, "We would have come to help you if we had known, but there's so much we can't do. We wish we had found you sooner but we brought you here because we wanted to help. No one's going to think less of you for not catching up or fighting." Gentle Heart pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back.

Melancholy sat stunned in Gentle Heart's embrace, then hugged her back. She felt tears spring involuntarily to her eyes, "No one's ever held me like this before."

"No one's every hugged you?" Gentle Heart couldn't suppress her surprise.

"I grew up in a foster home, or orphanage or whatever it was called," Melancholy sniffed, "The people who ran it were nice… I think… they didn't turn me away but… they were never really kind to me, never stopped the other kids from teasing and bullying me, same with my teachers. No one was ever nice to me unless they needed something." Melancholy's face was scrunched up, "This is… is this? Is this what it feels like when someone really cares about *sniff* about you?!" Melancholy started crying again.

Gentle Heart just rubbed her back, "There there, it's alright Melancholy, just let it all out. I'm here for you."

They completely lost track of time in the showers until Melancholy finally calmed down, sniffling a few times, her eyes puffy and red and her nose running from letting so much out as both of them finally did what they came to do in the shower, dried off then packed up their gym bags.

"Want to visit my house? You could meet our son," Gentle Heart said as they stepped out the gym door.

"Thank you but… I'm not good with kids," Melancholy stared at her feet for a moment, "Besides I think there's something else I need to do."

"Alright, just come and talk if you ever need to let it out again. Not just me but anyone," Gentle Heart patted Melancholy on the shoulder before she headed home. Melancholy watched her go before she turned and headed for the Hall of Hearts.

OoOoO

The training gym that Defender Bear had created in the Hall of Heart's janitor's closet still existed, though it was used for one-on-one training these days. Inside, Love Heart was training Shimmering Star, sparring with Love Heart twin swords clashing against Shimmers' double bladed sword as lightning and sonic waves clashed around the room.

Eventually Love Heart called a halt as Shimmers was panting from exertion. He smiled as his son dissipated his sword, "Very good, Sergeant Shimmering Star. In fact," he held out a hand to his son, "Give me your ID card please."

Shimmers nodded, still trying to catch his breath as he passed the ID card to his father. Love Heart cast the simple spell then handed it back to him, "Congratulations, Warrant Officer Shimmering Star. You are now able to fight in self-defence or with a full Magi on missions." He smiled as Shimmers took the card. "If things go well you might make a full Magi by the time we save the world."

Shimmers grinned, "Than you daddy!"

"Just promise me one thing," Love Heart said as he and Shimmers headed for the door.

"What, daddy?" Shimmers looked up at him.

"When we save the world, take a break and be a kid for a while." Love Heart paused with his hand on the exit door, "I know you'll be a great Magi some day, but I want you to enjoy being a kid for a while, alright?"

Shimmers nodded, "Ok, daddy."

Melancholy was reaching for the door to the gym when Love Heart opened the door. All three of them froze for a moment. "Oh sorry, Love Heart, I Wanted, I mean…"

"We're done here if you want to train alone, you're allowed to do anything in there," Love Heart stepped out, followed by Shimmers.

"Maybe, but not now. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute." Melancholy watched the door shut, "Can I come with you?"

Love Heart paused and turned to look at Melancholy, gym bag still slung over her shoulder. "If you want but… this isn't something pleasant."

"I can handle it," Melancholy said. She fell in step behind father and son as they left the Hall of Hearts.

Melancholy was stunned when they got to their destination. "A graveyard?" Truthfully Melancholy hadn't explored most of the Kingdom of Caring, keeping to herself most of the time.

Love Heart stared at the three graves, "Yeah. Each is a tragic memory." He touched the first one which had the name "Lily" carved into it. "She could have been my sister."

"Your sister?" Melancholy asked.

"It's a long story, ask Aqua Bear…" Love Heart dragged his hand across the top then passed by the second, which was unmarked.

"What about this one?" Melancholy asked.

"We… don't talk about it… it was too painful…" Love Heart stopped in front of the third grave, which had a long strip of ratty cloth tied to a spire that jutted out from the top. Love Heart touched the cloth as his unicorn star glowed, magic weaving into the cloth and restoring it to pristine condition.

Melancholy leaned over to read the grave. "Flash Heart Bear?"

"He was… my brother-in-law. Confidence Heart's adopted brother." Love Heart stared at the grave, "I got him killed. I was being reckless, irresponsible, and stupid. I ran off to fight a monster called Dusk Heart and Flash Heart came with me. He was…killed…" Love Heart was tearing up, "And it was my fault…all my fault for being such a stupid, useless so called leader!"

Melancholy could see it, and walked up alongside Love Heart and looked at the date on the grave, "Over ten years ago, you're still beating yourself up about it?"

"I can't stop!" Love Heart blubbered, "I can't forget what I did! If I had just… had just stopped and thought… instead of running off to fight… he might still be alive!"

Melancholy rubbed his back, she couldn't help but tear up slightly too but brushed her tears aside, "I don't think he blames you, Love Heart. I wasn't there but…"

"How could he not! He had a life! Ambitions! He was in love…" Love Heart's shouts faded.

"I don't blame you, Love Heart."

Love Heart blinked some of his tears away. That sounded like Flash Heart! Melancholy either hadn't heard or wasn't reacting and Love Heart looked around. The only other person there was Shimmering Star who had come up to take his father's hand.

"Daddy, don't cry," Shimmers was sniffling slightly too.

"There's more too." The new voice came from Harmony Bear who had emerged from the Forest of Feelings and now approached the grave. "I miss him but… I know Melody wouldn't exist now if he were still around." She touched the spire on the top of the grave, "I stopped wondering 'what-if' a while ago, Love Heart. You should too."

Love Heart nodded, "Thank you, Harmony."

"Just let it out, but don't dwell," Melancholy said.

"Thank you too, Melancholy." He took Shimmers hand and headed home.

Melancholy watched them go, then remembered what she had come to talk to him for and jogged after him. "Love Heart, hold up a moment."

Love Heart stopped and turned to face Melancholy. She didn't wait for him to reply when she spoke, "I wanted to see if I could get some help to catch up to everyone else."

Love Heart looked her up and down, "I'm not sure I'd be able to help you with that, but I think Confidence Heart can. Go to the gym in the Hall of Hearts tomorrow and she'll be there to help you."

Melancholy smiled, "Thank you. I'll be there." She turned and headed home. Despite what she'd seen she felt better about herself. She was going to make sure she did her part, even if that was just helping people when they were sad.


End file.
